Brothers United
by genhoss
Summary: Stolen as a child Ranma learns the truth about his origins upon fighting Saffron. Uniting the Valley and leaving to find his brother, RanmaHP crossover, RanmaxTonks
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this awhile ago, like the rest of my fics it isn't finished yet. Hopefully I'll get around to updating a few of the other fics soon, it all depends on if I find a job anytime soon. At least I have plenty of beer in my fridge so I know I won't go thirsty. I do not own Harry potter or Ranma ½. This fic takes place at the end of the saffron arc for Ranma for harry potter it is after the goblet of fire and Ranma will join in at the start of the next book.

thanks to james axelrad for proof reading this for me, also i have 4 other chapters almost ready so i'll probaly post them later this week.

the name for this fic is pending.

enjoy or

not.

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Ranma cradled Akane's dehydrated body close to his chest as he made his way over to the dragons tap to restore her body. As he waded into the water he began to feel odd, it was like his whole body was tingling and on fire at the same time. Ignoring the discomfort he waded in a few feet further an lowered Akane's body to where she was just barely submerged. He smiled as her body began to regenerate back to normal, his smile was not to last however. As her body grew he noticed that the pain and discomfort was beginning to take it's toll on him. Falling down onto his knee's he began to tremble, his eyes lost their focus and seconds later his vision went dark as he began to thrash wildly in the water.

Ryouga noticed that Ranma was having problems but was worried for Akane, she had not yet fully recovered yet and was still unconscious, paying close attention to his surroundings Ryouga made his way to the pool and pulled Akane's unconscious body from the water, leaving Ranma thrashing wildly.

As Ranma thrashed the pain began to be unbearable for him, his body began to omit multicolored lights, jerking his back backwards he released a scream as his body released a massive wave of energy that washed over the mountain bathing the entire valley with light.

As that happened prince Herb sitting on his throne, in his citadel, sat up strait and called for his two attendants. In the Amazon village the council of elders looked to the mountain with worry having felt a massive release of magic. On Phoenix mountain the defeated Lord Saffron who had been reverted back into an egg began to grow and finish his ascension.

Kiima noticed that the young warrior was indisposed and unable to fight back, intent on avenging her lord she began to stalk forward slowly so as to not alert any of the others that might go to his aid. She entered the water and unsheathed her sword, as she began to bring it forward attempting to end the young mans life she was stopped by a loud shout.

"Kiima, stand down."

Kiima paused in mid swing, turning her head she asked in an astonished voice, "My lord? How?"

Saffron stood wearily, he felt drained but at the same time he knew that he had completed his ascension. Taking a few steps toward the pool he said, "I don't know how it has happened but I have finished ascending and am now at full power. Although I do feel rather weary at the moment."

Kiima brought the sword back and was about to complete the motion when she was interrupted once again.

"Kiima I said stand down."

Taken aback by her lords orders she asked, "Why my lord? This mortal defied you and nearly killed you. Why should he know your mercy?"

Saffron shook his head slowly and replied, "That is true however, if it had not been for this mortal I would not of ascended fully this time either." in a softer voice he said, "Kiima, sheath your sword and bring the mortal to me."

Reluctantly obaying her lord she lifted the young mans unconscious form to her shoulder and carried him out of the water. Dropping him in front of Saffron she said, "As you wish my lord."

Shaking his head at the actions of his trusted subject Saffron took a moment to take a good look at the young man before him. He was slightly shocked at the boy's apearance, where there used to be a young Japanese boy with blue eyes now lay a young gajin with Blue eye's, but it was the same boy as before he could feel it. Reaching out with his senses he confirmed his suspicions. The boy was practically singing with magic. Turning to Kiima he barked out, "Bring him to a healer, he is not to be harmed."

Still mystified by her lords actions Kiima asked, "What of the others?"

Saffron gazed at the rest of the group and said, "See to their health, After the Amazon is well enough bring her to her village and fetch her elders. Send an emissary to Prince Herb as well, tell him I request his presence. "

"Yes my lord, anything else?"

"No, that will be all."

---------- A few days later ----------

It had been a few day's and Ranma was still in his mysterious coma. The rest of the NWC, currently consisting of Ryouga, Akane, Mousse, Shampoo, Genma, and Cologne were waiting patiently in a large council room in the depths of Phoenix mountain. They were all deep in thought, mostly over the condition of one Ranma Saotome. Akane was worried because she was afraid that Ranma was going to leave her with out giving her the opportunity to express her gratitude. Ryouga and Mousse were only slightly concerned, realizing that should Ranma not awake then they would be free to pursue their loves without Ranma's interference but at the same time they were both feeling a since of loss at the possibility of losing their chief rival and driving force in pursuit of their respective arts. Shampoo was worried because if Ranma died then she would have to return to the village with out him and possibly married to Mousse as a booby prize. Cologne was worried because of the implications that Ranma's condition could mean for the tribe. Genma was afraid of the truth coming out but he was unable to act due to the heavy guards of the phoenix keeping him from escaping.

------- Earlier at the Musk Citadel -----

Herb walked out of his throne room into the rear garden followed closely by Mint and Lime. Pausing once he reached the center of the garden he herd Mint ask, "Lord Herb, How are you going to get to Phoenix mountain on time? It's at least a days hike?"

Herb smiled and said, "Have you not felt it? Can you not feel the power surging through your veins? The curse upon the valley has been released, our magic's are returning?"

Lime was puzzled and asked, "What curse? You mean no more Herb-chan?"

Mint paled and shot out, "Lord herb, how could you? Your boobies were so cool looking. And you never even let me touch them."

Herb took in a deep breath, turning to his two subjects he commenced in a brief indulgence and attempted to beat the crap out of the two nitwits of course he succeeded but to his dismay they retained their lowered intelligence. Once his stress was released he said, "No I am not free of that curse but soon I shall have a measure of control. No I am talking about the curse that keeps us locked in one form." Seeing the dumbfounded stares he continued, "Long ago we were not limited to humanoid forms, we were free to change our appearance into whatever forms we were descendants of." Still receiving confused looks Herb sighed and said, "Originally the pools of sorrow were created to give wizards a easy way to gain animal forms but shortly after their creation a dark lord sought the power of a dragon and phoenix for his heirs. He went through great lengths and managed to capture one of each and changed them into young women. He then enslaved the two women and sired two heirs, my great great grandfather and Saffron's father. This was about 3400 years ago, the dark lord was able to control his sons for two hundred and fifty years but as he aged he found his control waning. Fifty years later his two sons sought to over throw him and they succeeded but it came at a high cost, while death ate away at the dark lord, he cursed this valley, ensuring that none of us could ever leave for more than a few months without consequence. It wasn't until the next generation was born that the true horror was realized, our ancestors found out that their children were unable to change their forms leaving them in their human forms unable to access their animal forms. It was thought that by taking an animal and cursing it into a human that we would be able to regain our locked off birthrights. As you know this has not worked, but a few day's ago I felt magic flowing through my veins and I knew that the curse has been removed. You might not have felt it yet but in time you should, I believe that I am the first to feel this seeing that my blood is less diluted than yours because of my dragon heritage allowing my family to live for several hundred years." Taking a few steps away from his two subjects he said, "Now that my little history lesson is over I do need to get going." That said Herb took a leap into the air and focused for a second, his form began to blur and expand, in a matter of seconds herbs human form was completely replaced with that of a twenty foot oriental dragon.

------------- Phoenix mountain ------------

Saffron stood in his throne room talking to a rather short Chinese man who appeared to be in his fifties. Taking a deep breath he asked, "Are you positive on his identity?"

The man nodded and said, "Yes the Chinese and Japanese ministries have both confirmed that he is the missing heir."

"Have you notified the British ministry yet?"

"No, not yet Lord Saffron, we thought it best to keep the news quiet until the young man was awake to see if he was aware of his true ancestry."

"Why is that?"

The man frowned slightly and replied, "There are a few details surrounding his disappearance and the death of his parents, we had thought that we should be certain that he simply isn't hiding out from he whom murdered his parents."

Saffron scoffed at that and said, "Surely you don't believe that a mortal whom could best me in battle would be hiding out of fear for his own life."

The man nodded thoughtfully and said, "No I think not but I feel that we must be prudent about this. There have been a number of questionable reports about his brother and the supposed reemergence of the dark lord that makes us at the ministry weary to make this young man a target before he is awake and able to defend himself."

Hearing a knock at the door Saffron turned and called out, "Enter."

Kiima entered gracefully taking a knee she said, "Lord Saffron, Prince Herb of the Musk has arrived and is currently waiting in the main council room with the others."

Nodding Saffron said, "Minister Wong if you would come with me I feel that we are about to get some answers."

Minister Wong nodded and replied, "Of course Lord Saffron."

--------- Later in the council room ----------

Saffron knowing that the next few minutes were going to be difficult for him cleared his throat and said, "I am sorry that I have detained you here in my mountain but I had thought that it was necessary until this mess could be sorted out. It is with my utmost sincerity that I offer my apologies to Akane Tendo as well as Shampoo. Recent events have lifted a fog from my mind and I find myself thinking clearly with full command of my faculties for the first time in several hundred years. Events have transpired that I find myself regretting and it is my hope that I will be able to redeem myself to you." Seeing the shocked faces looking back at him Saffron elaborated, "A long time ago this valley was cursed, this meant different things for the tribes that lived here. The musk were cut off from their various forms. But my people also suffered. Their magic slowly faded away leaving them with just a few of their abilities. It was our hope that I would be able to deal with this issue once I ascended, because my people are direct descendants of mine and my fathers it was out hope that during one of my cycles of death and rebirth that I would fully ascend and restore my peoples magic through the connection I share with them. This failed to happen, each time I died without being able to take the next step. Each time I died I lost a part of myself and my thoughts began to get, well, muddled. It became worse roughly fifteen hundred years ago when my father died, my cycle began to get shorter and shorted forcing me to be reborn every hundred years."

Taking in a deep breath saffron continued, "I decided that my failed attempts of ascension were causing me to degenerate so I held off ascending until recently. I had thought that this time things would be different as I had been stronger that what I had been for two thousand years. Even though I was able to ascend this time it was not a direct result of my own. See it was the young warrior that I fought, Ranma, that was the trigger for my ascension. When he went into the pool he released a massive amount of pent up magic that caused a backlash flooding the entire valley with raw untapped magic."

Prince Herb and Cologne seemed to remain contemplative as the ramifications of Saffron's statement sank in. the others looked shocked and Akane blurted out, "But Ranma doesn't have any magic, well except for his curse."

Saffron held up his hand to stall off any further comments and said, "That's not entirely true. Recent revelations have led to certain truths to be revealed. Ranma as you know him comes from a long line of wizards."

That statement had an instant affect of the room being flooded with a series of scoffs and snorts. Mousse piped up and said, "Yeah right, like Saotome's father does knows magic. I mean if he did then he probably would of robbed the entire valley and half of china blind by now."

Saffron nodded slightly having had an opportunity to go over several reports from the Japanese ministry of magic. With an amused grin he said, "Well as true as that might be, it is not the case. See the young man you know as Ranma is not a Saotome, nor is he even Japanese." Saffron leaned back and casually observed Genma's behavior before continuing, "Right now though that is besides the fact. We have already uncovered Ranma's true identity and have also came to a conclusion of what happened to release the curse that this valley holds. It is apparent that Ranma's magic was sealed when he was a small child but it was done rather poorly. Imagine if you will a sealed flask of water, the flask is full but over the years begins to expand without releasing the pressure. Combine that with the side effect of Ranma absorbing various magic's that were used against him, this was a direct result of his own magic's being sealed up. Now fast forward until he fights me and enters the pool under the dragon tap. That water is special as it restores one to their true form but does not cure curses. Ranma began to absorb magic at an outstanding rate until his body could no longer maintain the blocks. When his true form was returned the blocks were released flooding the entire valley with raw magic countering the curse of the valley and forced me to ascend."

Genma had remained silent waiting to see how events panned out but now he realized that he was going to be in trouble if he did not act soon. Using his limited intellect he rose to his feet and shouted, "You lie. Ranma is my son, there is no way I would of trained some filthy gajin in my art."

Mr. Wong stood up and glanced at Saffron seeing a small nod he reached into his robe and pulled out a wand, after muttering something under his breath a small beam of light shot out from his wand rendering Genma silent and unable to move. Restoring his want into his robe he turned and bowed to Saffron and said, "My apologies Lord Saffron but I felt it necessary to silence him."

Saffron shrugged and replied, "No worry Minister Wong, my thanks. I am a little rusty in my casting you have done me a favor." He waited until Mr. Wong was seated before he continued, "Ranma's lineage is not in question here and not why I have gathered you all here. For the most part we are gathered here to find out how Mr. Saotome came into possession of Ranma, what we are going to do about it and lastly to make reparations to those that have been wronged by my people." Turning to minister Wong once again Saffron asked, "Minister wong if you would."

Minister wong nodded and once again removed his wand and muttered a few words. This time Genma sat up strait , entered a trance and began to speak.

"Fifteen years ago, a small gajin came to me in a bar while I was on a training trip. I had complained about my wife's lack of ability in producing a heir for me to train. Two weeks later I ran into the man again, this time he was carrying a small child. When he saw me he offered me the child but I refused telling him that there was no way that I would be able to train the boy because he was a gajin. The man asked me if the boy was Japanese if I would take him. I agreed. The man pulled out a twig and muttered a few words, right before my eye's and Ranma transformed into a Japanese looking baby. After that things got a little hazy and my memories aren't clear until I arrived back in Japan."

Saffron and minister Wong frowned, there seemed to be something off calling out Saffron said, "Guards."

Seconds later two strong phoenix warriors entered the room, bowed to Saffron and said, "You called my lord?"

Saffron nodded and said, "Yes." pointing to Genma he continued, "Take this muggle into a cell and keep a guard posted until I say other wise. Also notify the Chinese ministry and tell them that we need someone to come out here and check to see if this man has been bewitched."

"Yes my lord." the two then went and dragged the still immobile form of Genma out of the room.

Saffron waited until the commotion died down before continuing, "Now that that is taken care of, I require Lord Herb and Cologne presence so that we can come to a viable solution to how we are going to pay back young Ranma. If the rest of you would kindly leave Kiima will show you to a meal and your quarters."

----------- Ten minutes later -------

Once everybody had cleared out of the room with the exception of Herb, Cologne, and minister Wong, Saffron spoke up once more and said, "I do not know about your tribes but I know that this Ranma has done mine a great service and I plan to reward him."

Herb chose this moment to interject and asked, "We are talking about the Ranma Saotome, whom I fought on Mt Horai, elder Cologne?"

Cologne nodded and said, "Yes Prince Herb, he is indeed the same one , although apparently he is no Saotome. Lord Saffron would you mind telling us his real name?"

Saffron chuckled and replied, "Does he not go by Ranma Saotome? It seems real enough to him." Seeing that he managed to produce a few sweat drops Saffron chuckled softly, "_It's good to be whole once more." _He waited until the others had been composed and said, "For the moment I do not think it to be prudent to reveal his origins just yet. However if you intend on gifting him with something that requires his name, I am sure we can work something out."

Not liking being left in the dark Cologne and said, "Lord Saffron, I require council with the rest of the elders of my tribe before we take any action in this matter."

Saffron turned his head to Prince Herb and raised an eyebrow. Prince Herb understood the silent question and replied, "I have had past dealing with Saotome and believe I know what he would want. I have already that in addition to offering him a way to control his curse I also will give him a copy of magical scrolls as well as title and lands among the Musk for he has done us a great favor as well."

Saffron nodded and said, "I believe it would be in the best interest for our people if we were to once again join forces and coexist under one main banner."

Cologne snorted and scowled out, "How do you intend to work this out? None of us has been able to get along for more than a few years at best before we have another conflict."

Herb had a good idea of what Saffron's idea for keeping the treaty together and began to chuckle. Seeing the looks he was receiving Herb cleared his throat and said, "If I am mistaken I apologize. However, I do believe we all have one thing in common, and that is that all three of our tribes have sent their strongest against Saotome and Lost to him." Seeing Cologne nod he continued, "I believe it is Lord Saffron's intent to form a council, making Saotome the 4'th man to mediate on some of our more aggressive negotiations."

Saffron nodded and said, "Yes, there is that but I was thinking of taking it one more step. Seeing that He is to be given title and lands among your people, I have decided to do the same. This gives him the social rank necessary for me to make him a general among my forces."

Herb nodded and said, "I see, by giving him control of our forces, not only do we benefit from his skills in combat but we also ensure that individually we are unable to break up the newfound council because our forces are controlled by an honorable fourth party."

Cologne remained silent in her seat, she was deep in thought over what she was hearing, "_If they are serious about this, it could be bad for my people. How are we going to force a marriage on him when he controls the combined forces of the Musk and Phoenix? Not only that but if I can not get my people to go along with this then we could possibly be invaded and we would be overwhelmed by the combined forces." _Clearing her throat Cologne said, "Ahem, that's all nice and all but I fail to understand what Ranma has done that requires anything more than a thank you."

Saffron and Herb chuckled, it appeared that three thousand years of Amazon history was not enough to illuminate what had happened to Cologne. Deciding to take the reigns Saffron asked, "You mean to tell me that you have no idea what Ranma has done?"

Cologne snorted and replied, "Do not take me for a fool. I understand what you have explained but I fail to understand how it affects my people."

Herb decided to interject and asked, "Elder Cologne, how many witches or wizards do you have in your village? You don't have to answer that, Lord Saffron and I already know your answer. We also know that while there are some that are capable at making potions and doing summoning that with the exception of those cases your village is full of squibs and it has been like that for the past fifteen hundred years."

Cologne was Shocked, her tribes most disturbing truth and greatest weakness has been known all this time. Shakily she asked, "How did you know?"

Saffron answered for herb and said, "He knows because it has been the same for all of us to some extent. While his people lost their ability to transform three thousand years ago. My people had also lost some of their abilities. But the ability to do magic stuck around but with each passing year less people were able to perform it. Fifteen hundred years ago is when the curse of this valley left me the only capable of doing magic with out outside assistance."

Herb took over and began, "Now however, with my people once again having access to our other forms and Saffron fully ascended it is only a matter of time before our children start to have problems with accidental magic. Not only that but some of out stronger warriors, whom have decent Ki control, might be able to cast magic soon."

Cologne nodded understanding why they were so intent on rewarding her son in law, clearing her throat she clarified, "So basically you are telling me that our younger warriors will gain the ability to perform magic to some degree, depending on their age and skill."

Saffron nodded and said, "Exactly, with the curse removed your peoples magical abilities will return. Some of your young adult warriors might even begin to do magic it just depends."

Cologne nodded once more and said, "I understand, however I still need to contact the rest of the council to see where they stand. I will return in a few days. Oh I also request that you release my great grand daughter and Mousse."

---------------

---------------- A week later ---------

Ranma was sitting in the quarters he had been assigned inside of the mountain in thought, he had just awoken two day's ago and had been informed of a few drastic changes taking place in his life.

"_What am I supposed to do now? Given the fact that I am not a Saotome I am not required to fulfill any oaths that the panda made. But do I want to leave Akane behind? I didn't know, I mean I did technically kill for her but that was more out of loyalty to her than love. I would of done the same if it had been anyone else out there, well okay maybe not Kuno but almost everyone else. So what do I want to do about her? I know that I just want to be friends with Ukyo and Shampoo is okay if kept at a certain distance(out side of Glomping range). I don't think that I want to marry her just yet. Perhaps in time but right now I think that a relationship is the last thing I want right now."_

Leaning his back against the wall he continued, "_Why does my life have to be so complicated? Just a few weeks ago my name was Ranma Saotome, now I find out that I don't exist. To make it worse I am not even Japanese any more. It was sure as hell shocking when I looked in the mirror and seen a Gajin staring back at me. It is defiantly going to get some getting used to, at least I still have my biuld. "_

"_What am I going to do about my name though? Am I Ranma Saotome, someone who technically never existed? Or am I this, James Alexander Potter, someone who disappeared shortly after their birth? As Ranma Saotome, I have some friends, a worthless father, and crazy mother whom is obsessed with manliness and a last name that is a punch line as far as honor is concerned. But as James, my parents were killed. I have no friends and the only person left is a younger brother who I know absolutely nothing about. Does he even want me in his life, I heard that he has enough problems to deal with. Why should I make them any worse by just being there."_

Ranma sighed to himself and continued his internal debate, "_Still it would be nice to have a brother. Maybe he could tech me some of this magic that I've been told I am now able to do. In return I could teach him some of the art. I think that I'll go and meet him. If he wants me to leave I can always go back to japan."_

Having made up his mind Ranma went to inform everybody else of his decision."

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	2. Chapter 2

thanks to James Axelrad for proof reading this for me, also i have a few more chapters almost ready so i'll probaly post them later this week

this fic takes place during the order of the Phoenix in the harry potter verse, so there will be spoilers however I will diverge from the story line and just follow it loosely in later chapters.

Also I have not wrote off the NWC they will be making a appearance in later chapters

oh and i am horrible about disclaimers so i don't own Harry Potter or ranma 1/2

----------- Three days later ---------

The past three days have put Ranma through a lot. Upon his decision to seek out his brother Ranma ended his relationship with Akane. It had been difficult but he promised her that they would always be friends and who knows maybe he will make it back to Nerima one day. Ranma also gave her several letters addressed to friends and one long one addressed to his Buddy Uchan, that letter explained what was happening and that Ranma would always think of her as his friend but that he would also never marry her. Ranma had also been relieved to find out that Shampoo was no longer his wife. The village thought it would be better to have a happy Ranma rather than one that is irritated over a forced marriage.

After Learning that Genma had spent nearly the last decade and a half under a few minor bewitchment charms that made him irresponsible and callous when it came to Ranma's safety Ranma was relieved. What relieved him was that that little bit of information meant that Genma wasn't really that bad it was just someone else's influence whom hadn't wanted Ranma to survive that caused a lot of his problems.

Ranma had been further amazed that Genma now free of the Bewitchment handed Ranma a scroll, when he unrolled it he had gasped in surprise it was a masters certificate for the Saotome style. It was not addressed to anyone specific as Genma had said, "It depends on what name you are going to go by so I left it blank."

Ranma was also extremely wealthy now, he had been given lands , and money from all three of the tribes in the valley. Their generosity had not stopped there either, they had also given him several scrolls, some on martial arts, some on magic, and one very useful one that would give him the ability to shift his form at will it was called being a metamorphmagus. After going through the technique Ranma realized that it did not only mean gender but things like hair color, facial structures and so on.

Ranma was now ready to get underway, he had said all his good byes and was excited at he possibility of having a little brother.

Ranma shouldered his pack and started to make his way down the mountain. He was followed closely by a short, long haired man who appeared to be in his late seventies by normal standards. In actually the man was 143 and no ordinary man. He was in fact a wizard and he was accompanying Ranma for a short time to tutor him in magic.

Behind the wizard another being also took off. Originally he had been a house elf but several years ago he had been captured by the amazons and cursed in the springs to become a human male. The amazons then locked him in his human form and attempted to breed him with various females to try and regain the magic that they had lost. He owed the young man leading this party a great service and even though as a human he no longer had any compulsion to serve selflessly like he had as an house elf he felt that he still would serve this young man responsible for his freedom as long as he was desired. He decided that because the young man had freed him upon receiving him as a gift. As a house elf he had been a slave and never cared, as a human he had been worse than a slave, at first his only responsibility had been to bed females but they soon realized that he was not transferring any magical abilities to his children. He wasn't even allowed to know who his children were, the elders had said it was because they were women warriors and would not want to know that they came from some weak minded, less than male creature. Ranma had changed that for him though, now he was important and free, he was the chief aid to the leader of the armies of the cursed valley. It was his responsibility to assist Ranma in matters of state and such.

With a pop a small phoenix arrived just over Ranma's head, the bird was a gift from Saffron and would allow Ranma to communicate with the council when ever he needed to.

Looking over his shoulder Ranma noticed Mister Cho his tutor in magic trailing behind him. Wanting to ask a question he called back, "Hey Mr. Cho. I got a question for you." he then lessened his pace to allow the wizard to catch up.

Jackie Cho quickened his pace in an effort to catch up to his student. Upon catching up he decided that he was going to ride his broom because there was no way he could keep up with the pigtailed boy. After catching his breath Mr. Cho wheezed out, "What was your question Potter-san?"

Ranma shook his head and said, "Listen, just call me Ranma alright, I'm still not sure on what I'm going to do about my name."

"Why do anything about it? You might have been James Potter, and you might only know yourself as Ranma Saotome, you have plenty of time to consider that you are still fairly young. If it bothers you that much go by the name of Ranma Potter until you decided." said Mr. Cho.

Ranma nodded thoughtfully and said, "Thanks, um that wasn't my question though." Seeing Mr. Cho nod Ranma continued, "Are you sure that I need to go get a wand before I can do magic?"

"Of course you do, that's why we are heading to Canton because they have the closest wand shop."

Ranma seemed to deflate slightly and muttered back, "Oh, its just that this magic feels similar to ki and I have been moving it around my body since yesterday attempting to get a feel for it."

Mr. Cho was astonished and asked, "You can move it around inside of you? Like how?"

Ranma Perked up a little thinking that perhaps Mr. Cho wasn't as all knowledgeable as he seemed and said, "Well as I said its just like Ki."

"Wait how can you still have ki if you have magic?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "Saffron thinks that it's because my magic had been locked away so my body started to use ki to cope with the training I was being put through."

"Oh okay."

"Anyway, I am able manipulate my ki you know ki blasts, I can jump higher, throw more punches, recover faster and so on. I was wondering if I could do the same with magic. So I have been meditating on it and moving the magic inside of me around to get used to it faster. I was thinking that I could try to fire off a blast of magic but I didn't want to do it incase it was dangerous to others here. I mean if it was just me I'd do it and get it over with but you're here along with Sun Lu."

Jackie was curious now, if Ranma was indeed able to manipulate magic like he was able to do with ki then that could mean advancements in magic and the possibility of rediscovering how to do some of the lost forms of wandless magic. Barely holding in his concealed excitement Jackie said, "Well if you want to try you can. I don't think it will do anything but it never hurts to try right. Go ahead and give it a shot, Lu and I will be fine."

Ranma nodded, taking a horse stance he started to bring his energies into his hands and slowly pushing them out to form a ball. Seeing a silver ball made of mist Ranma grinned and launched it forward causing it to come into contact with a tree. For a moment nothing happened, then the ground began to tremble and the tree began to lift out of the earth and drift upwards slowly increasing speed as it went.

Jackie was excited, that was great, and it seemed to be a powerful spell. Looking over at Ranma he noticed that the young man did not look any less for wear other than the slight frown marring his face. Wanting to know what could possibly bring someone down after achieving such a feat Jackie asked, "Hey Ranma, what's wrong? What you just did was incredible."

Ranma sighed and said, "It was supposed to blow up. Not fly off like that."

Mr. Cho became quiet and attempted to meditate about it when Sun Lu decided to speak up.

"Lord Ranma, perhaps your thoughts were too literal. If you were thinking Blow and up then that's what happened. With magic you need to be very specific about what you want to happen."

Ranma thought about that for a second before his entire face lit up in delight. Once again taking a horse stance Ranma focused his energies into his hands and yelled, "FIREBALL." A volley ball sphere of flames shot out from Ranma's out stretched hands. Ranma began to grin wilder and started shouting, "FIREBALL, FIREBALL, FIRBALL." several times inflicting the area with a small forest fire. Ranma having stopped his casting took a look around and sweat dropped, it appeared that in the heat of the moment he had gotten just a tad over zealous in his casting. Picking himself off of the ground he muttered, "Sorry, my bad."

Sun Lu said, "Lord Ranma, it is easy to fix just think water and point."

Ranma shrugged at that, deciding that he might as well give it a shot, though he was starting to feel a little drained. This time a small line of sweat roamed down Ranma's face as he concentrated on putting the fire out.

Moments later the fire was out and Ranma slumped to the ground exhausted from his first attempts at casting magic.

Leaning his back against a large rock Ranma said, "You know that was a lot harder than what I'd thought it would be. Maybe next time I'll mix my ki with it to see what happens. Right now it's time for a quick nap, I'm exhausted."

------------

For Ranma and his group the days went on, they were setting a slow but steady pace through Asia into Europe with a goal of reaching England by June or July allowing for ample time for training. And train Ranma did, after realizing that his ki and magic could work together for most spells and the effect of a spell depends on your intent when using wandless magic, he was then able to make many leaps in training. Ranma had a few drawbacks though, he found that he had some problems when it came to general knowledge because he did not even know about the magical community. But he made up for his problems with the more practical side. He was able to utilize his magic however he wanted with just a thought. Sun Lu the former house elf had said that it is extremely rare for anyone to excel so well at wandless magic. Ranma had replied, "It seems pretty much like ki to me, except it's easier to use and your imagination is it's only limitation."

That is not saying that Ranma had managed to turn himself into a god. No his power had it's limits just like any other wizard, what was giving Ranma the edge was the strict discipline it takes to master Martial arts at such a young age considering most masters are at least in their forties and Ranma can match masters whom are in their 300's.

During the trip Ranma truly only shined in: spells, charms, hexes, transfiguration. When attempting to overcome his curse Ranma was only mediocre in metamorphing, he was able to counter the curse and change without water, but he could barely alter his appearance beyond that. While changing from female to male was in fact a feat, Ranma still felt that he should be able to change his hair size as well because the scroll said he should be able to. As far as potions , magical creatures and plants, and other things , were concerned Ranma would just a soon forget about them. He hated potions, mostly because of past experiences, and the rest there just wasn't enough time to get Ranma fully up to date even with his un-paralleled learning curve.

Ranma had decided to forgo getting a wand and decided that if he ever needed one he would just pick one up then. Ranma had learned that there was a cost for doing Wandless magic, It was nothing serious, just annoying for Ranma, see no matter how low powered the spell, Wandless magic was always accompanied with a light show. When Ranma attempted to cast magic with out speaking he found that his eyes lit up like halogens, that made Ranma's attempt at stealth while doing magic futile because people would surely notice two bright beams of light emanating from his eyes .

Ranma had also managed to learn how to apperate, it had been by accident. Ranma was chasing after his phoenix that he had named Hinote, when Hinote disappeared. Ranma looked around while reaching out with his senses and a second later he disappeared with a loud crack. Sun Lu and Mr. Cho had been worried, neither of them knew how to put people back together when they mucked up disaperating . Relief washed over them as Ranma reappeared with a loud crack holding Hinote in a headlock while giving the bird a few gentle nuggies.

Sun Lu also spent a lot of time attempting to better some of Ranma's manners, it was an uphill battle. But Ranma did make some small progress, especially after he realized that neither of his traveling companions were fast enough to steal his food. The former house elf also tried to work on Ranma's Knowledge of the laws of his adopted people. That was the combined laws of the Amazon, Musk and Phoenix, most of the laws were redundant but their was also a fair amount of difference between the important ones that Lu felt Ranma should know. Ranma however turned the tables on Lu and told him that as long as Lu was willing to be his assistant, he only needed to get the basic gist of it and leave the interpretations to Lu whom was more familiar with the laws. That had the effect of boosting the house elf turned human's confidence in himself, he then reaffirmed his decision that he would stick by Ranma until the end for his generosity.

-----------------------

By the time Ranma had reached England, he had worked himself into a slight frenzy, he was excited but nervous at the same time. This was a change for our usually confident hero as he was not used to feeling out of his element, well with the exception of women, he would probably never understand them no matter how much time he spent as a girl.

Ranma was hoping that everything would go ok when he met his brother, especially after looking back and seeing some of his first impressions that he had already made.

Ranma was so anxious to meet His brother Harry that upon their arrival in London Ranma sent Sun Lu and Jackie Cho to take care of his arrival with the british ministry. Jackie Cho had explained to Ranma that he was unfortunately going to be preoccupied with a few personal matters and gave Ranma a brief goodbye just in case they were un able to meet up again. Lu had made Ranma promise that he would not approach Harry until someone else was there from the British ministry because of some problems surrounding Harry. Ranma had been ignoring what Lu had said the problems were because he figured that whatever it was it was nothing that they couldn't handle. So it was with a happy grin that Ranma took to the London roof tops heading towards Little Whining at a leisurely pace, well leisurely for Ranma.

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Harry Potter was sitting on a swing in the park contemplating his life, when he noticed his cousin Dudley walking with his gang of fellow miscreants. Harry was hoping that some of the gang members would notice him and attempt to coerce Dudley into taking action against him. That was a sight that Harry was relishing for, it would help him vent his frustrations at not knowing what was going on. Harry was temped to call out over to them to alert them to his presence when he noticed a older boy walking down the street carelessly whistling like there nothing in the whole world that would bring him down.

It was then that Dudley and his goons noticed the other boy..

One of Dudley's goons Gordon was his name called out, "Well looky looky there guy's. that git's got's to be loaded." Pointing to the mans attire which was made entirely out of silk by the looks of it.

Malcolm grinned evilly and said, "Hey Big D, this guy's walking into your turf without paying the toll."

Dudley smiled, this guy was nothing compared to him he was going to have some fun with him. Stepping in front of the older boy he said, "Hey hold it right there."

Ranma blinked, he had been whistling 'Walking on Sunshine' and had gotten so caught up he must of accidentally injured someone when he wasn't looking. With his usual smirk he asked in passable English, "Something wrong?"

Dudley frowned; of course there was something wrong, this git had yet to surrender his money to him. Deciding that it would be best to get to the point because the guy looked kinda dense he said, "As long as you hand over your wallet there isn't anything wrong."

Ranma frowned slightly; he hated bullies, and disliked thieves as well. Deciding to have a little fun Ranma replied coyly, "Okay I guess, don't know why you'd want that though. I keep all my money in my sock."

Malcolm looked down at the young mans feet and exclaimed, "Blimey D, this git's playing you for a chump, he ain't wearing no socks."

Piers took mock offence and said, "Big D, you gonna let this guy get away with giving you cheek?"

Dudley took a step forward, peering forward with his eye's he asked, "Do I know you from somewhere? Naw you just look like someone I know. Ya know you really should of just gave me your money when ya had the chance."

Ranma was fighting off a smirk now, this was just the thing he needed to get over his nervousness at meeting his brother.

---------

Harry was watching the impeding fight with a small amount of trepidation. The stranger, whom Harry had yet to get a good look at, seemed to scream with power. At first Harry thought that the guy was a death eater and there to take him out, but he shook the feeling off, there seemed to be something familiar about the guy.

--------------

Dudley was getting annoyed at the guy's feigned ignorance, he lunged forward snarling, intent on showing this upstart who was the man.

Ranma dodged the incoming rush effortlessly and just stood in place waiting for someone else to make a move. He didn't have to wait long as two people came up on his left. Ranma decided that since these kids were so unskilled he could afford to do his flashy easy moves that were just for show because they lacked any real since of power behind them. Unfortunately for Dudley and his gang, what Ranma considers as lacking power still has the strength behind it to floor most idiots.

So with a back flip, head but, hip toss, leg sweep, with a judo chop for good measure and two spin kicks, the entire group was down and out for the count. Ranma sighed sadly, it seemed that he would need to wait for Ryouga to find him before he got a decent spar.

--------

Harry was shocked, Dudley was a decent boxer from what he had heard this guy had outclassed him and his gang without any effort. Harry took a few steps forward to get a better look at the guy that tore through Dudley and his gang like a tornado. He was about to call out to the stranger when the man turned. Harry gasped in surprise but quickly contained himself lest this was some type of death eater trick.

Ranma smirked as he surveyed the battle field, while it had not been a decent spar it had managed to alleviate some of Ranma's nervousness. Hearing someone coming behind him Ranma turned around and stared for a second at what seemed to be a younger version of him with just a few differences, or was he the one that was an older version, after all until recently Ranma looked like a Japanese youth. Noticing the other guy tense up Ranma attempted to disarm him with his most charming smirk. Remembering a western tradition Ranma held out his hand and said, "HI, Names Ranma."

Deciding to be cautious Harry responded, "Hi, that's my cousin over there that you knocked out."

Ranma frowned slightly he had thought that this guy was his brother but he did not know of any other surviving relatives. He thought to himself, "_It must be true, All foreigners look alike. Just great now I'll never find my brother, I should of waited for that stupid escort to be set up but no I was impatient, you'd think by now I would realize that it isn't always the greatest idea to rush blindly into things. Well some of the time anyway, after all if I didn't I think life would get too boring real fast." _Deciding to make it up to the guy Ranma said, "Well I guess I can bring your cousin home for you if you want."

Harry shrugged, on one hand he could tell the guy to leave Dudley there but then the guy might wander off and he might loss a chance to gain some information. Deciding that he wanted this guy around Harry said, "Sure, I'd appreciate it, just follow me."

Ranma nodded, picked up Dudley and trotted after Harry.

Notes, thanks for the reviews any thing helpful will be considered.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to James Axelrad for proofreading, further chapters will wait until my other proof reader Jason Pollard gets done with it. Also I do not own Ranma or Harry potter. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy, I am sorry about the chapter size variations however when I started to write this I never separated it into chapters and after the fact it gets a little difficult to have a stationary chapter size when I didn't set it up that way originally. After six more chapters though it should even out a bit.

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After Ranma caught up to Harry, Harry turned to him and asked, "You aren't from around here are you?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "Nope spent most of my life in Japan and Asia."

Harry looked at him his eye's narrowing in slight suspicion and asked, "You speak pretty good English for not being from around here."

Looking back and forth Ranma leaned over slightly and whispered to Harry, "I travel a lot, besides English is a widely known language that is spoken as the second language in several countries (Including Japan and China( well maybe a third language in china))"

Harry nodded it did make sense. He was now leading Ranma through a alley way when all of the sudden all the lights went off and the small group was covered in icy darkness that seemed to emanate a feeling of hopelessness. Off to his side Harry heard Ranma exclaim, "What the hell is that thing."

Harry gaped, Ranma could see? Testing out a theory Harry asked Quietly, "What does it look like."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Like some kind of oni.."

Harry waited a second before he realized that Ranma wasn't going to answer him, suddenly Harry began to feel all the happiness leave his body. Turning quickly Harry gasped out, "Expecto patronum." A silvery mist struck out from his wand to hit the Dementor slowing it down just a little. Taking in a large gulp of air to squelch his nervousness Harry proceeded to shout, "EXPECTO PATRONUM." This time a Silver stag shot out from his wand and struck the dementor in the chest. In the seconds that followed Harry's stag managed to send the dementor fleeing. Harry then turned to face where he had last known Ranma to be pointing his wand he was about to order his stag to take out the other dementor when he saw what Ranma had been doing.

Ranma for his part had attempted to take on the dementor without truly understanding what it was. So as it closed in on him he began to feel helpless, of course Ranma has never truly been helpless. For Ranma being helpless placed him back into his dreams and memories, putting him at a time where he is unable to prevent what became his greatest strength and most embarrassing secret. For he is helpless to prevent it, helpless to stop it, it is his greatest nightmare. Being that most of Ranma's nightmares include several cats, the dementor was doomed as soon as it arrived in the alleyway.

Harry watched Ranma drop Dudley to the ground then before his own eye's Ranma seemed to loose his sanity leaving behind a wild beast. His jaw dropped when he saw Ranma lunge forward and smack the dementor with what looked to be his fist. The Dementor howled in pain as Ranma charged forward once again, this time Ranma leapt up and swiped with his hand. Harry was shocked on how cat like Ranma seemed, and would of thought that he was an animegnus if Ranma hadn't still been in a human form. Harry turned his attention back to the dementor who by now had started to glide away, it might of made it too if Ranma had not been there. Ranma leapt forward and swiped with his hand again this time the dementors arm was severed. Ranma was about to pursue his advantage when he stopped in his tracks and turned to face Harry.

Harry had been watching Ranma closely and nearly crapped himself when he saw that the guy's attention had been diverted back to him. Reacting as fast as he could, harry unleashed a quick stunning spell that somehow managed to connect with the older boy. He was about to put away his wand when he heard, "Don't put that away you idiot boy!"

"I swear I'm going to kill Mundungnus."

Harry looked back to where the voice was coming from and to his surprise it was his neighbor Mrs. Figg.

"Well what are you waiting for boy? An invitation, get over here and pick up your cousin before those things return."

Somehow his neighbor being a witch failed to get a reaction out of him considering what he had seen so far that night. Harry walked over to Dudley and struggled for a moment before he felt the body lighten and heard some one say, "Sorry bout that, here I got him."

Harry turned to the voice and his face paled, it was Ranma, the guy he had just stunned not even thirty seconds ago."

Ranma saw the look the younger boy gave him and frowned, He did not mean to scare the kid, he swore under his breath at the person whom had bewitched Genma. Then in a softer friendlier tone Ranma said, "Listen, I'm sorry for scaring you. I mean you no harm, and I regret letting you see that. But I really did not have a choice, that thing did something."

Harry nodded at Ranma sensing that he truly seemed to be disturbed by what had happened. (AN; I think that Ranma knows what happens directly before the neko ken gets triggered so he would know that he was in the neko ken just not what he had actually done, but Ranma being Ranma just automatically assumes that he did something bad.)

"That's very nice now boys but do you think that you could get the lead out, in case those things come back again."

Just as they started walking Harry heard the sound of someone aperating, looking around Harry saw a short unshaven man with peppery hair, who reminded him of some kind of dog, clutching what looked to be a invisibility cloak. He was about to say something when Mrs. Figg exploded in anger.

"WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN. THERE WERE DEMENTORS HERE. DO YOU HEAR ME DEMENTORS. WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO AGAIST THEM, I'M JUST A SQUIB. YOU BEST BE GETTING TO DUMBLEDORE IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU."

The man assumed to be Mundungnus, muttered a few words before he dissaperated with a loud pop.

After the group arrived at Harry's street Mrs. Figg said, "Come now you two I'll walk you home." Suddenly Mrs. Figg realized something, her duty was to keep an eye on Harry and never since she had been living in the area had she ever seen the boy who was carrying that worthless boy over his shoulder. Deciding that this was important she asked, "You with the pig-tail, what's your name?"

Ranma looked over at the woman whom he would of guessed to be off her rocker, figuring that she might be able to point him in the right direction he said, "I go by the name of Ranma now but my parents named me James Potter."

Mrs. Figg was silent for a minute before she snapped her fingers and said, "Oh, now I remember, yeah I can defiantly see the resemblance in you two."

Harry had been listening, he quickly spun around and leveled his wand at his so called brother. With a snarl he said, "I don't have a brother."

Ranma flinched at the venom in the other boy's tone, holding up his one free hand in a placating gesture Ranma replied, "If, your name is Harry then yes you do. You don't know about me because I was kidnapped shortly after I was born, it has only recently come to my attention that I had a brother. I decided to seek you out and was going to show up later with a friend of mine and a member of some British ministry of something or another."

Mrs. Figg chastised the two teens and said, "You two need to get going now, you have to hurry incase something else happens. Harry you should trust Ranma for the moment I'll be sending word to Dumbledore as soon as Mundungus gets back."

Harry wanted to believe the story, if it was true then he had a brother, a family member that Voldemort had been unable to kill or hurt. That meant that he wouldn't have to be alone anymore, his brother looked old enough, he had to be because Harry was fifteen so his brother looked at least seventeen and that was old enough to live on your own. Harry's thoughts darkened as he was reminded of a Professor Moody who had turned out not to be a professor at all but rather a death eater who was posing as Professor Moody. At the next moment Harry figured that since Mrs. Figg was reporting to Dumbledore that he might be able to trust the older boys word for a minute. Harry wished he had something substantial to base his judgment on, just then though it appeared that his silent wish had been answered as he saw a familiar looking phoenix swoop down and land on Ranma's shoulder. His mind was made up, if Fawlkes liked this Ranma then he had to be trust worthy, his mind made up Harry went up to the house that he resided in and knocked on the door.

Seconds later it was opened up by his Aunt, "Diddy, Diddy, your home… Vernon? VERNON, come quick there's something wrong with Diddy."

Ranma chose this time to speak up, he said, "here's nothing wrong with him, he's just taking a nap ma'am."

Both of Dudley's parents heard Ranma's excuse and they ushered him inside.

The man who reminded Ranma of a half man half walrus motioned Ranma to come lay Dudley down, after a minute Ranma noticed that Harry seemed to be creeping towards the stairs making himself as unnoticeable as he could, Ranma shot him a questioning glance when he heard a commotion flying in the room from the kitchen. Harry stopped in his tracks it was an owl, that could mean only one thing, he finally was going to have some news about what has been going on. He almost skipped over to the owl ignoring his uncles usual rant about owls. Harry took the letter from the owl and tore it open to see what it said,

It read;

Dear Mr. Potter,

We have received intelligence that you have performed the Patronus charm at nine twenty three this evening in a muggle- inhabited area and in the presence of a muggle.

The severity of this breach of the decree for the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Ministry officials will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.

As you have already received a official warning for a previous offence under section 13.of the international confederation of warlocks statute of secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. august 12th.

Hoping you are well,

Yours sincerely,

Mafalda Hopkirk / Improper use of magic office/ Ministry of Magic.

Harry stared at the letter blankly, it had been in self defense, for Pete's sake there had been frickin Dementors there. His shoulders sank as he realized that he wouldn't be going to see his friends at school anymore. He was about to run up to his room when he felt a comforting hand placed on his shoulder, looking over he saw that his so called older brother had noticed his depression and came over to assist him, Harry was about to speak when he was interrupted by his uncle Vernon.

"Boy, what are you still doing down here? You know your not allowed out of your room when you're here."

Ranma bristled he did not like that tone one bit, this was supposed to be Harry's and his family and they seemed to either ignore Harry or yell at him and that was just a guess because Ranma hadn't even been inside for five minutes. Desiding to voice his concerns Ranma asked, "Say Harry you do something wrong to get in trouble or something?"

Ranma noticed that the second he addressed Harry in a personal way the attitudes of the adults changed, they started to advance on the two teens, Ranma being more experienced in dealing with this type of situation in a proactive way, let his arms blur forward. Next thing Harry knew his aunt and uncle were now sprawled on the floor.

Remembering what the letter said Harry cursed silently and said, Listen I need to pack and then I have to get out of here."

Ranma nodded and said, "Alright but I'm coming with you, I just found you I ain't losing you again."

Harry went to turn and run up the stairs when another owl flew in from the kitchen, In the spirit of his unconscious uncle Harry mockingly muttered, "Owls, Owls, why is it always bloody owls." Harry reached forward and removed the letter from the owls leg.

It read:

Harry-

Dumbledore's just arrived at the ministry and he's trying to sort this mess all out. DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE. DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND. Arthur Weasley

Harry was relieved, Professor Dumbledore was taking care of things. Harry allowed himself to take in a couple of deep breaths in relief, he had faith in the head masters abilities. Suddenly though he got to thinking, it was a coincidence that he met his brother right before a dementor attack, right? The more Harry thought about it the more suspicious he became. It was a little too convenient for Harry's taste and to top that off Mr. Weasley's letter did not say anything about his brother being there. Taking a step closer to the wall Harry turned around and put his back against the wall. He then lifted his wand up and pointed it a Ranma.

Ranma sighed, he could tell that Harry was stressed, he also had a good idea that what ever had just attacked them had something to do with it. Sighing Ranma said, "Listen Harry, I'm just going to sit here for a few minutes ok. I won't move or say anything, and just so you know you have thirty minutes until Dudley wakes up and around forty minutes before our aunt and uncle wake up."

Harry nodded at Ranma in thanks and allowed himself to slide down the wall. He sat there silently for several minutes, just enjoying the peace and quiet while he attempted to get his thoughts in order. His thoughts were interrupted once again by a loud screech, looking over into the kitchen he noticed that there was another owl coming his way, sighing wearily Harry rose up to retrieve it. As he passed his uncle Vernon's body Harry herd him muttering, "Owls, owls, no not more owls."

This time as Harry reached or the letter he noticed that his hands were shaking out of nervousness. Quickly so as to not let Ranma become aware of his unease Harry snatched up the letter and quickly opened it anxious to see what it said.

It read:

Dear Mr. Potter,

Further to our letter of approximately twenty two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of august, at which time an official decision will be taken.

Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, the ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquiries.

With best wishes,

Mafalda Hopkirk

Improper use of magic office

Ministry of Magic

Harry stared at the letter in disbelief, unsure of it's meaning. He wondered if they were just biding their time to expel him, and why this was happening. Surely it's ok to protect yourself especially when you are being attacked by dementors. His thoughts then turned to Dumbledore, he had been having him watched so he must know about this Ranma person. He was about to make his way back into the other room when another owl appeared. This time the owl carried two letters, taking them both Harry noticed that on was addressed to him and the other was addressed to a Ranma Saotome. Thinking that he had the imposter now Harry decided to read his letter first.

It read:

Harry-

I hope this letter finds you in good health. A team of Aurors will be at your residence shortly to escort you to safety. The man whom is claiming to be your brother is indeed your lost brother. He means you no harm and will help protect you should the need arise. It is ok for you to trust him.

Arthur Weasley

Harry sighed, the stress seemed to melt away, he had a brother and he could trust him. Looking down into his hands he noticed the other letter. Curious as to what it said he brought it into the other room and delivered it to Ranma.

Ranma noticed that Harry seemed to be doing a bit better when he reentered the room, but instead of saying anything he chose to keep his word and remain silent for the mean time.

Harry felt foolish for not trusting his own brother and being suspicious of him. Offering a weak smile he said, "I'm sorry about how I've been acting. It's been kind of rough lately." Shuffling his feet slightly Harry continued, "There is a letter here for you."

Ranma smiled at Harry attempting to further relax him. Taking the letter it read:

Dear Mr. Potter

Please excuse us for having your former name listed on the envelope but I wanted to ensure that Harry read the other letter first, as well as another reason that I wish speak to you personally about. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster at Harry's school. Recently certain events have happened that have placed your brother in danger, within the next two hours a team of Aurors should arrive to escort you and Harry to a safe house. I realize that you might feel offended at this but I believe that it is best that Harry is kept safe and I am sure you would agree that this would be a prudent choice given your experience of being put in mortal danger. I have another request to make of you, I realize that being Harry's brother and missing out on each others life you would naturally have a lot to talk about, however, my request is that you leave out anything that has to do with you being a metamorphmagus. I promise I will explain in due time however time draws short. After you finish reading this letter, remind Harry to go upstairs and pack as he is most likely waiting to see what your letter was about. I am truly sorry as I am a stranger and keep making requests but I deem it necessary and it shall be explained to you as so as it is convenient. If Harry asks who this letter is from tell him it is from you assistant Mr. Sun Lu and it was about your status entering this country.

Appreciatively

Albus Dumbledore

P.s.

It would probably prove to be beneficial if your cousin, aunt and uncle remained asleep.

Ranma chuckled after finishing the letter, if only this guy knew how bad he was at lying. Then a thought hit Ranma, if you avoid the subject it's not lying. Turning to his brother he said, "Harry, I think you should go upstairs and pack. Bring everything you can if you need help with something let me know, I have ways to carry a lot of items without using magic.

Harry nodded and went upstairs.

While Harry was busy packing Ranma started to bring his other relatives upstairs. After finding their rooms he his another shiatsu point that would keep them sound asleep for the rest of the night. He then went back downstairs and locked up the house. After that was finished he decided that he would go check on Harry. Going upstairs Ranma followed the noise and found Harry in his room packing. Knocking softly at the door Ranma called out, "Need any help?"

Harry turned and instinctively brought out his wand.

Seeing how jumpy Harry was Ranma held up his hands again and said, "Wooh there, I surrender."

Harry chuckled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, I've been a little jumpy lately.

Ranma nodded and replied, "Yeah it shows, you really need to relax."

Harry sighed and said, "I know it's just been a little hard lately."

Ranma frowned, he knew Harry was in some kind of danger but did not know a lot about it. Taking in a deep breath he entered the room and sat down on the bed. Stretching out his arms he asked, "Want to tell me about it?"

Harry shrugged and said, "So much has happened, I don't know where to start."

Ranma nodded and replied, "Yeah I know the feeling. Look I'll be honest with you, I don't like to talk about my past. I have a lot of secrets that I prefer to keep hidden but there are some things that I should tell people because it directly involves their safety, whenever I'm around."

Harry was puzzled by that remark. After picking up a few errant books and tossing them in his trunk Harry asked, "Well, what is it?"

Ranma sighed and replied, "You know this is supposed to be about you, right. The only thing I know about you is that your names Harry potter and you attend some school named Hogwarts." Taking in a deep breath Ranma continued, "But in the spirit of brotherly bonding, I'll tell you, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone else unless it is an emergency."

Harry nodded and said, "I swear, that I shall not tell anybody unless it becomes necessary."

Satisfied Ranma nodded and said, "You know when those things attacked earlier?" Ranma waited until Harry nodded before continuing, "Well what ever they were doing to me forced me into the Neko Ken. It is an almost unbeatable technique, the subject becomes faster and stronger than what one would believe possible. Energy claws extend out of my knuckles giving me a very deadly melee attack, I have been told that I can somehow use this as a ranged attack as well. There is one problem with this though, and it's that during times when I am under the neko ken I have no control. My mind shuts down and I believe that I am just a big fluffy hell spawn demon intent on sucking out someone's soul by attempting to look all cute and innocent."

Harry blinked and asked, "Don't you mean Cat?"

At the mention of the word cat Ranma flinched, after calming his nerves he said, "Yeah, that's what I said ain't it? So anyway, are you gonna tell me know?"

Harry shrugged, to him this was something new. Most people knew more about him than what he did or rather they assumed. But here was someone that had absolutely no knowledge about him, Harry wanted to be relieved about it but he also realized that this was his brother and that started to get him angry. Harry was upset that their entire family had to suffer in some way, he just hoped that Ranma's life had been better than his. Clearing his throat he started, "I suppose you might know of the Dark Lord Voldemort? Well any way it all started back when I was just a baby…"

As Ranma listened to Harry's story he could not help but feel proud of his brother, it appear to him that both of them had led a similar life, but Ranma was going to take a few steps without Harry knowing. The way Harry's aunt and uncle had treated him was over the line, it was simply not how you treat family. Then there was lord moldy shorts Ranma was going to take care of him too if he could, the man simply got away with too much without paying a price, well Ranma was beginning to fancy himself a dept collector because he believed it was time to cash in on someone's ass, with spades. (ouch, bad mental picture)

By the time Ranma began to feel several presence arriving in the house Harry had covered just about everything he could think of, giving Ranma an accurate picture to what was going on. Giving off a grin Ranma said, "Lu is here with three other people."

Harry looked puzzled and asked, "Who's Lu, and how do you know that there are people here." Harry added in a slightly panicked voice.

Ranma waved off Harry's concern by saying, "Lu is my assistant, rather more like my baby sitter seeing as every body thinks I can't go more than a few hours with out getting in some sort of fight and destroying something. As for how I can tell that there are people here, that's simple, I felt a surge of magic that seems to be emanating from four people, one of whom is Lu."

Harry nodded, then he looked around his room and noticed that he wasn't even half way packed. It wasn't that he had lots of stuff no, in the process of telling his story Harry had pulled out a few things to show Ranma and unfortunately for Harry they happened to be at the bottom of his trunk. Realizing that he needed to hurry he asked Ranma, "I don't suppose you can stall them for a bit so I can finish packing could you?"

Ranma shrugged, got up to walk out of the room and called over his shoulder, "Okay, I got your back little bro."

Harry blinked, he did like the sound of that.

------------- Downstairs

Ranma walked carefully to allow himself the element of surprise if it turned out that Lu had been taken hostage, the conversation he had just had with Harry had made him a little more cautious, especially after hearing about Harry's last year of school where someone was able to impersonate a man that was well known to the Headmaster.

Ranma began to creep along the wall, reaching out with his senses he noticed four people in the kitchen finding the signature that he believed belonged to Lu Ranma began to examine it against what he had in his memory, after ensuring that it was indeed Lu, Ranma then took stock of the situation, Lu did not seem to be under any duress other than a slightly panicked look, but Ranma knew that that was because Lu was afraid of what Ranma might do in this situation. Deciding that these people were safe Ranma tapped his hand against the door frame and jumped back a bit to make sure that he was out of the line of fire incase somebody got wand happy.

------ Kitchen

Lu sighed, his boss could be so troublesome sometimes, having spent several years with the amazons Lu was able to pick up a few things, not a lot because he was not to be trusted as a house elf turned weak male, but he had learned enough to be able to tell when someone was attempting to sneak up on him. It had become necessary because Lu had wanted to keep the fact that he was still able to cast magic under wraps. After hearing the light tap he called out, "It is ok, it's just Lord Ranma testing out your reflexes

The three wizards in the room reluctantly sheathed their wands, Ranma sensing that the danger , albeit slight and minimal to him, had passed. Taking a few steps forward he said, "Sorry about that, wanted to make sure you were whom I was expecting."

A man with a weird looking fake eye, a large chunk of his nose missing and a false leg stepped forward and growled out, "Listen kid, next time you pull a stunt like that it could cost you something important."

Ranma shrugged and waved it off nonchalantly before saying, "So how do I know that the people who are supposed to be here are here an not some imposters whom have managed to kidnap my aide, but not put him under any sort of control."

The man with one eye walked up close to Ranma giving him a once over and said, "How do we know you are who you say you are and not somebody else that wants to make us think that you are who you say you are."

Lu slammed his head against the table if those two kept at it then they'd be there all night, deciding to get things over with he said, "Lord Ranma has a unique condition and only lord Ranma myself and Jackie Cho know what it is."

Ranma glared angrily at his loyal assistant, he hated it when people exposed a weakness or strength of his. It always ruined the surprise making it seem less awe inspiring that what it was just because they knew about it beforehand. Normally this was not how Ranma was, especially in the past, however recently he had begun to notice how people reacted when they saw him do magic without a wand and he liked it. Not wanting to give his secrets up Ranma replied in mandarin, "You know Damm well what it is, I swear you better not tell no one otherwise , I'll, I'll. Dammit you know I ain't gonna do nothing anyway. Have it your way, a busty young redhead." Ranma then grunted irritably.

Lu unconcerned over Ranma's grumpiness said, "I assure you that it is indeed lord Ranma. Lord Ranma might I present, Mr. Moody." The man with half a nose, weird looking eye thing and fake leg glared over at Ranma obviously not trusting him yet. Lu then motioned over to a young woman just a few years older than Ranma and said, "This charming young woman is Nymphadora Tonks."

Ranma gave her a casual wave, that was returned with a nervous smile. Ranma thought, _"I guess none of them are really happy that I'm here. I can't really blame them after all that's happened to Harry I'd be cautious too."_

"My lord this is Remus Lupin." Ranma gave him a casual wave as well and said, "Harry is upstairs packing we got a little distracted for a bit. He'll be down in a few minutes." Ranma then opened up the fridge because it had been several hours since he had last eaten. Peering in there Ranma found plenty of meat to make several sandwiches, calling over his shoulder he asked, "Anybody want a sandwich? Lu how about it, you want one? It's my turn to make dinner anyway."

Lu shuffled his gaze, it was hard for him when he was treated as an equal, that was due to a lifetime of servitude as well as his experiences as an Amazon male. Nodding nervously he said, "Yes my Lord, that would be splendid sir."

Ranma chuckled as he made his way over to a counter carrying assorted meats and cheeses. As he began to make the sandwiches he said, "You know Lu, you really need to learn how to relax and quit calling me lord Ranma. You are going to give me a complex if you keep that up. Everybody else sure that they don't want a sandwich? I'm making a few for Harry."

Moody looked around and asked, "You said Harry's upstairs?"

Ranma nodded and replied, "Yep, he'll probably be down in a few minutes."

Moody looked over to Remus and said, "I think that perhaps one of us needs to go check on him."

Remus nodded and said, "I'll go."

"Hey wait a second would ya?" Walking over to the man Ranma held out a few sandwiches and said, "These are for Harry"

Lupin nodded and went upstairs to check on Harry. The minute he was out of hearing range Ranma said, "Alright, so let me get this strait. You three are going to bring Harry to a safe house?"

Moody nodded slowly with his magical eye spinning in circles.

"And this place what makes it safer for Harry as opposed to me taking him in?"

Tonks chose to speak up at that moment she said, "Well, at the place that we plan on taking him to he has friends and a few people that consider him family, plus you can't stay awake and protect him twenty four seven can you?"

Ranma thought about that for a second, he had a lousy track record when it came to guarding someone of course he never knew he was guarding that person until it was too late. (Akane getting kidnapped) frowning slightly Ranma said, "Okay, so this place is safe for him then, if that's the case and he's in so much danger then why are there only three of you to escort him?"

Moody coughed slightly and said, "We ain't just here for Harry."

Ranma looked at the man cluelessly. After a second he asked, "So who else do you need to go get?"

Moody shook his head and was about to say something when he was cut off.

"Lord Ranma, they are also here to retrieve you."

Ranma glared at Lu in between bites of his sandwich, seeing that he chastised his friend sufficiently he turned his gaze to Moody.

Tonks sensing a possible pissing match said, "It is not that Dumbledore does not believe that you can't take care of yourself, it is just that for reasons he has not yet said he wants your presence to be kept a secret for the time being in case the ministry tries something with you as well."

Ranma's expression lightened a bit, turning his head he said, "Thanks, usually nobody explains things to me and just assumes that I want to go along with it. I don't appreciate it when people just assume that they have my best interests in mind. However I do want to know why there are only three of you, five if you include me and Lu."

Moody who had been busy appraising the young man said, "There are more of us but they will be following at a distance, we wanted to keep the group small as possible as a larger group could be spotted easier."

Ranma nodded and asked, "So how are we going to get there? You guy's got a van or something?"

Lu shook his head, his lord just didn't have any experience with the magical world outside of fighting. He was about to say something when a thought hit him, "_Lord Ranma, doesn't have a broom nor has he ever flown before." _Voicing his concern he said, "Mr. Moody sire, Lord Ranma doesn't have a broom, nor has he flown before."

Tonks and Moody shifted their gaze to Ranma and raised their eyebrows as to ask the question silently. Ranma gulped nervously and said, "Well, um, that is, I haven't exactly flown yet but I've been working on it." After that was said the first part raised a question in Ranma's head, he blurted out, "Hey what does flying have to do with a broom?"

Tonks looked puzzled and asked, "How else then are you supposed to be able to fly?"

Ranma shrugged not wanting to give away his secrets and attempted to play it off by saying,, "Well back in Nerima, usually I'd say something stupid and my ex-fiancée would hear me and hit me with Mallet-sama. Next thing I know I'm sent flying sometimes I reach the next ward but mostly it's a few blocks at the most unless I do something really offensive."

Moody was staring at Ranma incredulously and asked, "I just have to know, what is considered really offensive?"

Ranma shrugged, "It just depends really, never could figure that out. Sometimes it was cause this other girl who was my fiancée would try to hug me or my so called Amazon wife would slam her bike in to me and start pressing herself against me. Hmm, sometimes it was for picking on her pet pig."

Tonks took in a deep breath and said, "Wooh, how many fiancées do you have?"

Ranma shrugged as he completed his last sandwich, after chewing on it for a bit he replied, "Never really got the final count, but I had three set up by the guy who raised me. Lets see, there was Akane, the agreement with her family was the oldest going back to before he got me, that was so they could join the two schools of anything goes. I'm a certified Master of the Saotome style. Then there was Kaori, Genma sold me to her father for a bowl of rice , one fish and two pickles. After that there was Uchan pops stole her dowry. Then I got a Amazon girl, Shampoo, she thought we were married cause I beat her accidentally in a fight. Hmm, after that there was Kodachi but she was insane so I basically ran away whenever she came around. There are a few others, but Genma said he couldn't remember them."

Tonks looked at the young man appraisingly and asked, "Wow, that's a lot of fiancées." After a brief pause she continued, "So, which one do you want to marry?"

Ranma got a confused look on his face after a moment he asked, "What do you mean? I don't have to marry any of them anymore, cause I ain't a Saotome, or in Shampoo's case, the council lifted the law." Suddenly Ranma felt a jolt of magical energy go off stiffening he asked, "Any one else feel that?"

Moody narrowed his one good eye and asked, "You can feel that?"

Ranma shrugged and responded, "Yeah, can't you?"

Moody shook his head and said, "No, that's the signal saying that the others are almost ready we are going to have to move out in five minutes. Tonks Go upstairs and tell Lupin and Harry to hurry up." turning back to Ranma he said, "I'm going to have to give you a crash course in flying, think your up to it?"

Ranma shrugged again, with a wry grin he said, "Can't be too hard."

Moody chuckled and said, "No, I suppose if you really are a Potter it wouldn't be, your father and Harry were naturals."

At the mention of his father Ranma's ears perked up, slightly astonished he asked, "You knew my father?"

Grabbing a broom from the corner He handed it to Ranma and said, "Yeah, he was a good man, Later when we have a little more time I'll tell you about him, although Remus and Harry's godfather knew him better." handing Ranma the broom he said, "Okay, this is the easy part.."

------------ Four minutes later ----

Ranma was smirking, he had gotten flying down within the first two minutes and used the down stairs of the house as an obstacle course for turning practice, he had been surprised when he had done three laps and not even once brushed up against a wall. Now he was standing in the kitchen Harry, Lupin and Tonks had came down finished with packing Harry's stuff and were waiting for the last signal.

Moody knowing that the signal was coming said, "Harry, Ranma come here. We are going to have to use a Disillusionment Charm on you two because invisibility cloaks would blow off on a broom."

Harry walked over first and Moody just tapped his wand on Harry's head slowly changing Harry's appearance. It was not that Harry's features changed no now his body seemed to have a chameleon quality as his bodies colors changed with his surroundings. Harry let out a soft, "Cool." before Ranma chose to interrupt with a snort.

Ranma figured that that was impressive for those who can't turn themselves invisible, snorting at his brothers soft spoken words Ranma said, "No thanks I don't need that?"

Moody was about to snap on Ranma for being stubborn when Ranma continued with, "Observe, Saotome sealed technique, the Umi sen ken." After saying that Ranma let his entire body fade from view.

There were a series of gasps followed by, "That isn't Magic is it?"

A disembodied voice said, "Nope, this is a martial arts technique created by the man that raised me. Pretty cool hey Harry?"

Harry nodded briefly, because it was cool, suddenly he asked, "Are we going to the Burrow?"

Moody shook his head saying, "Nope, the place we are going to is a lot safer than that place and no I can't tell you were we are headed, you'll have to wait."

Harry and Ranma frowned. Harry frowned because if the Weasley's home wasn't safe then where was Mr. Weasley and his family staying? Ranma frowned because he had grown to dislike surprises. Both were silent about their distress though and beared with it.

Seconds later the sky was partially lit up by a red spark almost reminiscent of a single firework explosion. Turning his head Moody said, "Tonks you're up front, Harry you go right behind her. Remus and I will be on the sides, Ranma I want you right behind Harry. And Sun Lu, you'll follow Ranma. Every one keep in tight, I don't want any stragglers, it's going to be a tough ride. Harry, Ranma if we get attacked continue on without us heading east others will join up with you." Looking around at the slightly overcast skies, Moody continued, "I wish there were more of this, but we couldn't afford to wait, at least we got some cloud cover., alright lets quit lolly gagging and get going, we are already behind schedule."


	4. Chapter 4

thanks to James axelrad for proof reading this for me, also have 4 other chapters almost ready so I'll probably post them later this week

Sorry it took so long I just have had a busy week and then some.

----------------

As they took off Ranma turned to Lu and said, I want you to fly under Harry, to keep him covered from below." putting on a reassuring grin he continued, "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I won't let anything happen to you, I just figure that it would be best to have someone that can be seen blocking what would be taken as a empty flying broom from view."

Lu nodded, His Lord was too kind, Ranma should no by now that his life and those of his family were his primary concern, after all he was merely a house elf turned human.

The group proceeded to gain altitude and began to use the clouds as shield to keep out of site of anyone looking up from the ground. They first flew north for a half an hour before turning south west for ten or so minutes, finally the group began it's trek east. Five minutes after turning east, Moody told the group to gain altitude once more. A the peak of their flight moody pointed to a large formation or rain clouds and yelled, we are going to fly through those, we'll be all right just as long as there's no lightning.

Ranma groaned to himself he was glad that he could at least control his transformation now, it'd be fairly confusing if he changed right in the middle of a cloud, the other people would probably attempt to blast him too.

After leaving the cover of the rain clouds our soggy group started to make their descent. A few minutes later the group had landed in an what could be at best nicely described as a slum. Harry was about to ask where they were when Lupin said quietly, "Just give Moody a minute, don't worry Harry, we are almost there."

Harry nodded at the former professor and looked over to find Ranma whom seemed to be helping the woman Tonks with his trunk and owl. Harry then turned his attention to Mad-eye in time to see him remove a lighter from within the confines of his robes. Moody's magical eye locked on Harry and he said, it's called a Put-Outer, borrowed it from Dumbledore. Should help keep muggles from seeing us from their windows. Come on then, we ain't got all night."

Moody then dragged Harry, while leading the group across the street, over to the pavement. Ranma followed closely balancing Harry's trunk and owl cage on his head. Ranma paused for a second and said out loud, "Hey anybody see Hinote, it's a phoenix, looks kinda like a flaming turkey."

Harry almost tripped, the main reason why he trusted Ranma in the first place was because he thought that Dumbledore sent Fawlkes as a symbol of trust. He wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what to say. Ranma had not lied to him or said that the phoenix belonged to someone else. In fact, as Harry remembered it Ranma had just fooled around with it as if it were his pet.

"Harry, Ranma, here, memorize this." Moody said, while thrusting a parchment into their hands. It read:

The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Twelve Grimewald Place, London.

Ranma shrugged as he read it, it seemed silly but he figured that there was probably some reason behind it. Stepping away from Harry Ranma looked around and was about to say something when he felt a thwack on the back of his head. Lurching slightly Ranma asked, "Why'd you do that?"

Moody sighed and said, "Your invisible, carrying a trunk and an owl cage on your head. We are trying to be inconspicuous."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at that and thought, "_Doesn't inconspicuous mean not drawing attention to oneself. If that is the case then isn't a group of people wearing cloaks kind of obvious, I mean who wears cloaks nowadays?" _However instead of voicing his concern Ranma just expanded his senses and wrapped the trunk and cage in the Umi sen ken with him.

Moody shook his head, James' oldest son seemed like a good kid but was sort of dense, he just hoped that this Ranma didn't prove to be a liability to Harry. Meanwhile Tonks started to look at the older Potter rather hungrily, well honestly she was staring at a bush that she thought Ranma had been standing in front of.

Harry finished with memorizing the parchment handed it back to Mad-eye and said, "I got it."

Moody didn't spare Harry a glance as he snatched the parchment and incinerated it with his wand.

Harry started to look around, he noticed number ten on his left and number thirteen on his left. Figuring that he was looking for number twelve Harry continued to glance around wondering what he was missing.

Meanwhile, Ranma who was used to cockamamie maps with odd riddles just concentrated and found number Twelve Grimewald place within seconds of being reprimanded by Moody. At first just the door was visible but slowly the rest of the house seemed to appear by pushing two others out of the way. Figuring that he was at the right place Ranma went up to the door and knocked softly.

By this time Harry had figured it out and was seeing the door when he saw Ranma reappear out of thin air right in front of it, oddly Harry's trunk and owl cage were nowhere to be seen. He looked back to ask Tonks if she still had it when he noticed that she had moved forward and was trying to catch up to Ranma. Harry was about to shrug when Moody came up from behind him and growled, "Come on Harry, we need to get you out from the open." Taking the hint Harry started walking to the door, only to see the door open and a worried Molly Weasley open the door and lunge at Ranma.

Ranma had been minding his own business waiting for someone to open the door, he did not figure that someone was supposed to unlock it from the outside, so he was just standing there rocking back and forth on his heels. Suddenly the door opened and Ranma found himself within a glomp that was almost worthy of an Amazon. Ranma tried to say something but the woman started to squeeze him as she was babbling softly about how worried she had been about him after she had heard. Ranma attempted to catch his breath when he was saved by Tonks.

Tonks noticed what was happening to Ranma, and she had to stifle a giggle. He looked like he was both terrified and confused at the same time. Deciding to save him from a humiliating situation she said quietly, "Mrs. Weasley, that's not Harry. That's Harry's brother, Ranma."

Molly blinked, she was beginning to wonder how Harry could of become so well trimmed during the short span since she had last seen him. Releasing the young pigtailed man she now knew as Ranma she blushed and said, "Sorry, I thought that you were Harry, but that doesn't change the fact that I am glad that you are alright. After all you are a Potter and any Potter is always welcome here."

Ranma smiled at her and offered his thanks, he then stepped to the side to allow the others access to the house first. Tonks entered first Followed By Mrs. Weasley who had found Harry and was quietly gushing over him, Ranma offered him a grin as he walked past. Ranma attempted to wait for Lu and Remus to enter in front of him but He was pulled in the house by Mad-Eye, whom seemed to have a fairly strong grip for not being a martial artist. Moody Growled softly, "Remember, we are trying to keep your presence a secret and it won't stay that way if you continue to lounge about in the open like that, now be quiet."

Ranma didn't appreciate being handled roughly but was willing to let the slight go, because the guy was obviously following a preset plan. Once everyone was inside, Moody turned to the door and with a flick of his wand it closed and began to lock itself. Mrs. Weasley was motioning them down a grimy corridor into a large room that looked like a kitchen. Ranma took the opportunity to remove Harry's chest and cage from his personal stuff space. Tonks who was trailing slightly behind Ranma was caught staring at how Ranma's silk pants seemed to flow nicely against his frame. So it really wasn't her fault that she tripped and fell against the wall with a thud causing a nearby curtain to open.

Ranma winced as some woman began screaming, not knowing what it was about Ranma decided to take action to silence her so it could be sorted out. Reaching out with speeds that he is famous for, Ranma reached into the painting and pressed a point on the woman's neck immediately silencing her. The room quieted as almost everyone's gaze fell upon him. Nervously thinking that he had done something wrong he pulled at the back of his pigtail and chuckled, "Um, I'm really sorry about that, it's just she was screaming right in my ear and I didn't know what was going on." Mistaking their quiet stares for anger Ranma let his shoulders slump and he said, "I'm sorry ok, I'll just return her voice and go find a hotel or something." he then turned to reach out with his arm when it was grabbed by Tonks.

Tonks was shocked, the portrait of Mrs. Black had resisted silence charms and any attempts to take it off the wall, but then in one fluid motion, she saw Ranma do something that forced the batty portrait to be silent. She was soon forced into action as she heard Ranma mention something about restoring Mrs. Blacks voice, and then leaving. Not really sure where that behavior was coming from she lunged out with her arms and stopped him from restoring the batty portraits voice to her. In a quiet voice she said, "There will be none of that nonsense, we were just shocked because no one has been able to get that old bat to shut up, it resists all the silence charms we try and seems to be stuck to the wall. Infact there are several portraits around here that should be silenced." Turning her voice even softer she said, "And, I'll have none of that leaving non-sense, your Harry's brother and you should spend some time with him."

Ranma nodded as he allowed Tonks to drag him towards the kitchen, Ranma started to shiver he hadn't noticed it at first but there was something seriously wrong with the house.

While wizards have magic sustaining them they do have a small amount of ki as well. The ki is usually no larger than what would be found in a small child. Ranma and a few wizards in china suggested that whomever kidnapped Ranma sealed his magic completely forcing Ranma to unconsciously expand his ki. The wizards along with Saffron had conjectured that Ranma's magic had expanded because whatever spell was cast to block it somehow drew power off of Ranma's own magic forcing it to expand. When he had entered the dragon tap Ranma's magic attempted to keep his true form and magic sealed, however the power of the dragon tap restored one's true form. Since both spells were intertwined with Ranma they were both released at the same time.

Now the reason why Ranma had shivers running down his spine was because he was picking up massive amounts of dark emotional ki. It was assaulting his senses and he knew that he needed to do something about it or he would likely go insane relatively soon. Racking his brain for a solution Ranma thought, "_Okay, I know this place is loaded with dark tainted ki. How do I get rid off it? Confidence isn't necessarily a positive emotion, it's more of a neutral, because confidence is both good and bad, it would depend on the situation. I don' really have a lot of experience testing out different emotions, partially because I'm afraid of forming a extremely girly ki blast like a giant pink heart. I could attempt to mix them maybe a general happy with a burst of confidence saying that it's going to get better from here on out. Hmmm, that might work. However, I don't think it will be permanent, the darkness seems to be interwoven into the house itself. Well if I can't get rid of it completely I can bring it down to a more manageable level so I don't go insane."_ With his coarse of action settled Ranma stopped and said, "Umm, Tonks, do you think you could let go for a second, there is something that I need to take care of right away."

Thinking that perhaps he had to go to the washroom she said, "It's upstairs on the left."

Ranma blinked before he realized what she was saying. Shaking his head he replied, "No, that's not it. See I'm a ki adept, and this house is chocked full of negative ambient ki. I need to counter it otherwise, it could start to affect me mentally."

Tonks nodded not really understanding what he was talking about and asked, "So, what do you need to do?"

Ranma smirked this was going to be the cool part, turning to Tonks he said, "Basically I just need to raise my ki level to flood the house and it should dilute the tainted ki. As long as I do this every few days I'll be fine, though there is a small light show involved. But I really need to do this now though, if I hadn't started on a new technique this wouldn't be an issue, but in order lo learn how to use pure ki I had to unlock my senses and once opened I can't turn them off."

Seeing that they were alone in the hallway, Tonks said, "Well if it won't take too long go ahead and do it now."

Ranma nodded and said, "Okay, but you might want to step back a bit." Seeing Tonks comply, Ranma concentrated and began to extend his battle aura, flooding the hallway in a bright blue light flecked with gold.

---------

Harry had just went through the embarrassing ordeal of having his hand shaken, body hugged, and back slapped in greeting. As he was basking in happiness of being surrounded by those that he cared about he noticed that Ranma was nowhere to be seen. Turning his head he saw his brothers assistant and asked, "Excuse me, Lu. Where is Ranma?"

Lu turned to regard Harry and was about to answer him, but he was interrupted by Sirius asking, "Who is Ranma?"

Harry started to smile he had just thought, "_I have family now. It feels pretty good, I'll never have to go back to my aunts ever again. Sirius is going to be surprised."_ Breaking out of his thoughts he answered before Lu had the opportunity to spoil it and said, "Ranma, is my older brother."

That small statement had the instant effect of silencing the entire room, because the only people that knew about Ranma's existence were, Remus, Moody, Mr. Weasley who was not there yet, and Mrs. Weasley who had not yet realized it even though she had already greeted him. Sirius though, shook his head and said, "Harry, your older brother's name is James and he disappeared before you were born."

Harry nodded and replied, "True, but he was kidnapped and raised as someone else and used to go by the name of Ranma Saotome."

Sirius stood silent for a moment before he smiled brightly and grasped Harry by his shoulders and asked, "Where is he Harry?"

"I don't know? I was about to ask Mr. Sun but you interrupted me."

Sirius Turned to Mr. Sun, he couldn't believe it, Harry's brother was alive. It was truly a great day, it meant that Voldemort failed and Harry no longer had to be alone. Smiling Happily he thought, "_Now I have two godchildren."_

Lu knowing that all eyes were on him at the moment cleared his throat nervously and said, "Lord Ranma is currently attempting to purify the house." Seeing the blank stares looking back at him he continued, "Lord Ranma is a ki adept attempting to learn how to use pure ki, currently he has his senses locked wide open and can feel all the ambient ki of his surroundings. This area has a rather dark feel to it, and would drive him insane if he does not take precautions. To that end he is in the hall attempting to nullify some of the negative ambient ki."

Ranma was still in the hall with Tonks, attempting to wash away some of the negative ambient ki. Blue and gold tendrils of ki began to phase through the walls and floor. Ranma was panting, the house seemed to be fighting back, it didn't want to let it go. Focusing his strength Ranma pushed his ki further out, attempting to overpower the struggling house. The house pushed back and Ranma nearly fell to his knees from the strain, not allowing himself to give up he gathered more of his more positive emotions to add them to his struggle and pushed back with all his might. This time the blue corona of power was filled with multi colored flecks signifying Ranma's more positive emotions. The house was unable to compensate for this onslaught and began to lose slowly.

Ranma winced, he was winning but it was coming at a cost, he was expending way too much ki. Well he couldn't stop now, Ranma pushed one last time, this time his entire body arched back with power as his ki accelerated the cleansing. Ranma smiled, it was done, the house would be ok for a few weeks, unfortunately he wasn't so sure on how long he would be out of it. He could swear he was hearing something as his eyes rolled back and he slumped over unconscious.

"Bloody hell." escaped the lips of several of the houses occupants as they left the kitchen to look in the hall, they arrived just in time to see Ranma's aura start to dissipate as he fell unconscious. Rushing forward, Lu asked, "Might someone be able to assist me with Lord Ranma?"

Tonks was the first one to respond, she said, "I'll help. Um, is he going to be alright?"

Lu nodded and replied, "Yes, he will be fine. He just expended too much ki attempting to cleanse the grounds. I just need to get him to a bed."

Molly pushed her way through the crowd and said, "George, Fred show Mr. Sun to your room. I'm sorry Mr. Sun but with all that has happened today I haven't had the opportunity to clean out another bedroom."

Lu nodded and said, "It's ok, Lord Ranma would not want to put anyone out. I am sure he would appreciate any room that you could spare."

---------- ten minutes later ----

Lu had laid Ranma down in Fred and George's room, and explained that Ranma was going to be fine that he just needed to rest after expending so much ki. That in turn led to Lu explaining what exactly ki is. The conversation was then steered towards Harry to inform him of what has been happening while leaving most of the more pertinent stuff out. It was explained to Harry about how the daily Prophet was running a smear campaign against him and Dumbledore. The conversation then steered to Harry's illegal use of magic, they consoled him in the fact that it was in self defense and that there were provisions that allowed wizards to defend themselves. However before they went into further detail about the nights events Molly Weasley looked and Said, "Merlin's beard, look at the time. Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, bed now."

"Aw mom, it's not that late." Chorused four voices.

"Nonsense dears, there will be plenty of time to get caught up tomorrow, it's getting late."

----- Ten minutes Later --

Molly had ensured that all the children were in their rooms and just re-entered the kitchen, closing the door she said, "Now Mr. Sun, would you mind telling us a few things about yourself and Ranma"

Lu spread his arms in a placating gesture and replied, "Of course, what would you like to know?"

Molly sighed she wasn't sure where to start, seeing Molly's hesitation Moody growled out, "How about, his schooling, where he learned magic, how good is he, how is it that you call him master or lord, and anything you think we should know."

Lu sighed it was going to be along night, pulling out a flask from his jacked he said, "Well I guess I should start from the beginning. As you know he is James Potter, he has had no formal education in magic, he has been learning at an outstanding rate since we left the cursed valley a few months ago. Magically speaking he is not a wizard, he does not have a wand nor does he want one."

Moody narrowed his non-magical eye and said, "We know he isn't a squib, so how does he do magic?"

Lu cleared his throat and replied, "He uses wandless magic, Sorcery, and he is quite gifted in offensive and defensive spells." Chuckling he continued, "He also has quite the ability to make new and interesting ways to implement his magic. To add to that, Lord Ranma is one of, if not the most powerful Martial artists in both worlds meaning magical or muggle. To date his victories include, the Seven Lucky Gods, Prince Toma, an Orichi in Japan, Cologne of the amazons, Prince Herb of the Musk, Lord Saffron of the Phoenix. All of them he defeated without Magic and using his own skill."

"As for why I address him as I do, that's simple, He has been given title and Lands from the three Kingdoms of the cursed Valley, He is their chosen champion and Warmaster. He has also been granted honorary Lordship among the Japanese and Chinese Ministries of Magic, out of gratitude for what he has accomplished. If I might add Lord Ranma is not aware of this fact, but by the Laws of the Cursed Valley, Lord Harry has diplomatic immunity for casting magic, as well as any other relative they he has left by blood or bond, as long as they have Lord Ranma's blessing. It's retroactive so even though Lord Harry did not know about it he is still safe from punishment." Lu let off a soft sigh before continuing, "There are a few other matters that I need to address, some of them involve Lord Harry, others involve Lord Ranma."

Molly stretched her arms out and said, "Finish telling us about Ranma, before we talk about Harry."

Lu Sighed again, he really did not want to say what he was about to but it was necessary for his Lords safety, clearing his throat he said, "Lord Ranma, has a few problems that he does not like to talk about, one I can tell you because it directly involves the safety of those residing here but the other is up to if Ranma wants to tell you. The problem I am speaking of is Lord Ranma has some issues with cats, he is working on it but it is slow going and he is not expecting positive results any time soon. So I humbly request that you please attempt to keep all Felines away from Lord Ranma."

Puzzled Sirius asked, "What type of problem could he possibly have with cats?"

Lu smiled sadly and replied, "Lord Ranma has not had an easy life, the man whom raised him, was under several compulsion spells to ensure that Ranma was treated roughly, In the hopes that Lord Ranma would not survive the training. This had several dire effects for Lord Ranma, he has difficulties with any type of relationship outside of the art that he covets, he lives to train. To that effect lord Ranma is a very potent living weapon capable of destroying a mountain with just martial arts and his arsenal of techniques. One of these techniques involved cats, it is not a pretty picture and Lord Ranma has not even described the process to me. However he has talked to Mr. Cho about it, to that end I have a pensieve, (I think that's what its called, that cauldron thing that can hold memories) it needs to be kept somewhere safe as it holds the memories of Lord Ranma's experience's during a few of the more rough training exercises."

Remus chose that moment to interject, "Why would he need a pensive to hold memories of his training?"

Lu smiled this was something he liked about Ranma his ability to turn a weakness into a strength, leaning back in his seat he said, "I am afraid that I can not be more specific than that Lord Ranma does not like to be ruled his weaknesses. However it might be advisable if you happen to see the pensieve not to look into as you might not enjoy what you see"

Molly spoke up, "Tomorrow we will arrange more permanent sleeping arrangements for Ranma and you can probably hold the pensive in that room, you'll just have to watch out for the house elf."

Lu smiled , and said, "I thank you for your generosity towards my Lord."

Moody was thinking that he may want more information considering that when Ranma's existence gets out, crap will hit the fan, but to Ranma they were essentially strangers and anything they could get was okay. From what he had heard though he was surprised that someone so young could accomplish so much. Oh sure Harry has accomplished a lot too, but Moody was familiar with some of the foes Ranma had faced and he knew that for most of them, a team of Aurors would be hard pressed to defeat. He then began to smile as he thought, "_Dumbledore's looking for more wizards, especially foreign ones for the order. With Ranma he just gained an army. Though when Voldemort finds out that Ranma is still alive he's going to flip, especially if he finds out just a portion of the information of what he's capable of. This just might be what we need to catch that slimy bastard, he'll be forced into action and then we'll have him right where we want him."_

Shaking everybody out of their own musings Lu said, "Unfortunately, this problem with the daily Prophet must be dealt with swiftly."

Tonks shook her head and said, "There is nothing that we can do, they are working with Minister Fudge to drag Harry's and Dumbledore's name through the mud."

Lu nodded and replied thoughtfully, "That's necessarily true, and of course the final decision in this matter would be left up to Lord Ranma but there are a few options open. You say that this Lord Voldemort is attempting to build an army, right?"

Seeing nods all around the table Lu continued, "And Lord Harry has directly opposed him?" Watching for the nods Lu nodded to himself and continued, "Your Minister Fudge refuses to acknowledge Harry's claim, that comes from first hand knowledge and has been running a smear campaign to destroy whatever credibility he has left."

Lu sighed and said, "Your minister Fudge is digging himself in a hole, see Lord Harry is Lord Ranma's brother and any slur on Lord Harry's Honor is shared by Lord Ranma. Lord Ranma's titles are from kingdoms that hold honor highly, and by questioning Lord Ranma's honor, they are committing an act of war. Then there is the whole issue of Voldemort, his attacks on Lord Harry constitute an act of war and your ministries lack of action in protecting Lord Harry constitutes another act of war, because retroactively Lord Harry is Lord Ranma's heir and Lord Ranma is the heir of the three kingdoms of the cursed springs if Lord Saffron, Prince Herb and more than half of the Amazon council are killed, however should any of them die off individually Ranma would then ascend to rule that kingdom. Of course Lord Ranma would has several options open to him on how he would wish to deal with Minister Fudge and the Daily Prophet, he could just ask for compensation and a public apology or he could duel those involved and then force them to make a retraction." Chuckling softly Lu added, "Of course, that's if Lord Ranma doesn't just go down there and bust some heads, he is after all a more hands on type person."

The entire room had become silent, it was now apparent why Dumbledore wanted Ranma's presence and existence kept secret from The British Ministry of Magic. He was hoping to get Ranma to go along with a plan that would force Fudge to either retire or admit the truth, but regardless of what Minister Fudge does, the Daily Prophet would be forced to make a retraction and spread awareness of the dark lord returning. In turn Voldemort would be forced into action and the order would be ready, those present at the table could hardly believe their luck.

"Doesn't Harry have immunity now because he is Ranma's brother? So wouldn't his entire hearing on the 12th be irrelevant?" asked Tonks.

Grins spread around the table as that fact settled in. breaking the silence Lupin said, "It seems that Dumbledore was able to come up with a quick plan on the fly. Although, I do think that this should be discussed with Harry and Ranma before we put this in motion, it would not be a good idea to abuse Harry's trust in us. Also, while Ranma might not know us well enough to trust us, he is Harry's brother and we don't want to cause a rift between the two, after all that has happened they both deserve a measure of happiness."

Giving a slight cough to remind the others that he was still there Lu interjected, "I do believe that you should have this Dumbledore speak to Ranma personally. From what I have learned of my lord, is that he has been used and manipulated in one way or another his entire life. He is just recently starting to come out of his shell that Genma had placed upon him." Pausing for a second he added, "However, with his sense of honor he will go along with it as it would help assure Harry's safety as long as he is asked. I do need to tell you though since this directly involves my lord I will be discussing this with him tomorrow, when he wakes up."

---------- Earlier in Harry's room ------

Molly had just escorted him and Ron into the room a few minutes prior after shrugging on some pajama's Harry's said, "You have no idea what it was like. Not knowing what was going on, I had to resort to watching the news in hope that there was something, some kind of clue as to let me know if anything was happening."

Ron flopped down on his bed and replied, "There wasn't really much that they let us know either and we have been staying here. They just come in have their meetings and then leave, sometimes a few of them stick around for dinner but other than that we haven't had a clue as to what has been happening either."

Just then the room rang out with two loud cracks, signifying that two people had just apparated into the room. Astonished Harry asked, "You guy's passed your apparation tests already?"

Holding up a long piece of flesh colored string Fred said, "With distinction."

Ron rolled his eye's and said, "Yeah they have been doing that non stop since they passed."

"Practice makes perfect." chirped George, looking at Harry he continued, "Anyway we came down here to show you our latest brilliant innovation."

Once again holding the string up for Harry to see Fred took over and said, "Extendable ears, why risk getting caught spying?"

Taking over Fred finished, "When you can eavesdrop from within the confines of your own room."

"Mom will flip if she finds one of those again." whined Ron.

Fred sighed in frustration, "It's a no go with the expendable ears mate, mom must of put up a Imperturbable Charm on the door."

Just then the door opened and Ginny entered with Hermione. Walking over to Harry's bed Ginny sat down and asked, "So what's he like?"

Slightly puzzled Harry asked, "What, who's like?"

Hermione sighed while shooting Harry a slightly disproving frown and said, "The Pope, Who do you think? Your brother Harry jeeze. This is big, you find out after all this time you have a brother and you could care less."

Harry sighed weakly and said, "Well, I don't know, things have just been happening so fast today. It's not that I could care less, I guess I'm just still in shock after everything that's happened today. I mean I'm happy and he seems alright, I mean we didn't have much time to talk and what time we did have was spent with me telling him about my life. The only things I really know about him is that he is a powerful martial artist, and I only know that's true because I saw him take out Dudley and his goons without any effort. The only thing he really told me was that he has a problem with cats, but he really didn't go into it much."

The room was silent for a minute before Hermione said, "Well, it's not like you won't have time later to find out more about him."

Harry nodded, deciding to change the subject Harry asked, "So what's the Order of the Phoenix?"

"It's a secret society, made mostly of people who fought against you know who last time. Dumbledore has been gathering everyone up preparing for when you know who starts to strike again" said Hermione.

Interested Harry asked, "So who's in it?"

Ron shrugged and replied, "Quite a few people actually, we've met at least twenty of them so far."

Leaning closer to Harry Ginny said, "Snape's even a member."

Harry's jaw dropped, he tried to form words but nothing coherent came out.

Noticing Harry's difficulties Hermione said, "Dumbledore trusts him."

Fred piped up, "Doesn't make him any less of a git than before."

Ron and George nodded in agreement.

Still curious as to who else was in this so-called secret society Harry asked, "Anybody else that I know?"

Ron nodded and replied, "Bill is in from Egypt, though he say's he misses the tombs."

"Charlie joined too, though he's still in Romania. We heard that Dumbledore wants to bring as many foreign wizards as he can so Charlie's making as many contacts as he can." Fred added.

"What about Percy?" asked Harry, curious as to what his former Griffindorfs was up to.

The room quieted for a minute before Ginny spoke up, "Percy, he ah…"

"Just don't mention him to mom or dad, they had a row because they were supporting Dumbledore and Percy ain't" said Ron rather solemnly.

Fred shook his head and supplied, "Apparently, he seems to think that you and Dumbledore are off your rocker. Blames dad for his lack of ambition, it's just one giant mess."

Harry nodded and was about to ask another question when George shushed everyone and whispered, "Got to go, mom's on her way up."

The sound of scurrying feet and twin cracks filled the room as Harry and Ron were left alone. Harry had just climbed under the sheets when the door opened and Mrs. Weasley's head popped through the partially ajar door. Taking a look around Mrs. Weasley said, "I know it must have been quite the day for you Harry, but you should really try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, is going to be a big day Harry, we have a lot of cleaning to do to get this house semi-livable, plus I'd imagine that you'd want to spend some time with your brother and Sirius. Good night Harry. Oh and Ron, a mother knows when her son is faking being asleep."

--------- the next morning ----

Ranma woke up with a groan, cracking his eye's open he attempted to figure out where he was and how he managed to wind up in a bed. Examining his ki he was shocked to find himself almost fully recovered from his attempt to cleanse the house, allowing his eye's to open wider Ranma began to take in the room as his vision reoriented itself. He thought to himself, "_Okay, I'm in a room, there are three beds. I think the other two are occupied." _Reaching out with his senses he continued, "_Okay, the other two beds are occupied but not by anyone I know. I know I am in that house from, was it last night? I have no idea. Well I can sense Lu downstairs moving about so I'll just get up and find him." _Taking extra care not to disturb the other two occupants of the room Ranma climbed out of the bed and sighed, he really hated it when Lu would change his clothes without asking. Reaching into his subspace pocket, learned courtesy of Mousse, Ranma grimaced, he only had a pair of pants and a muscle shirt. Grumbling about how clothes only got dirty if they got stuff on them Ranma got dressed and made his way into the hall.

Not knowing the layout of the house or where the loud creaky steps were located, Ranma employed his best stealth exercises without resorting to Genma's sealed techniques, although Ranma felt that since Genma sealed them, it didn't mean that he had to too. As he crept down the stairs he noticed that whomever this house belonged to must have had the most sick and twisted sense of style. Looking around at the archaic and just plain creepy furnishings Ranma realized that not even the Kuno's were this bad. Arriving on the first floor Ranma's gaze fell upon a shelf he cursed silently and asked himself, "Are those heads?"

"Yes lord Ranma, those are the heads of house elves." Ranma jumped slightly, he hated it when he lost track of Lu's position, he knew the former house elf was sneaky, after all when you have to hide to practice your art you should be fairly sneaky. Grumbling he said, "You don't have to sneak up on me you know."

"Yes Lord Ranma, I am aware of that."

Ranma sighed if he didn't know better Lu was developing a sense of humor, shaking his head to clear away such absurd thoughts Ranma asked, "How long was I out?"

"This is the first morning since your arrival his house."

Ranma looked at Lu with a half lidded stare, he hated indirect answers. Whenever Lu started giving them, it meant that there was an important decision that he had to make coming up. Deciding to stall a bit before finding what ever his trusted assistant was hiding from him he asked, "So is there anywhere we can practice?"

Lu nodded, indicating a direction with his arm he said, "Right this way my Lord. What type of training do you wish to do today?"

Ranma thought about it for a few seconds, while Lu had some training in Amazon Wu Shu he was nowhere even close to Akane's skill level. That was kind of sad in itself. Lu was good at casting magic though, an idea started to form in his head, after going over various pro's and con's Ranma said, "How about you start tossing magic at me and I either dodge or attempt to block it."

There were times that Lu wanted to smack Ranma, it was appearing that today would be one of those days. After taking a few calming breaths Lu advised, "My lord that would not be wise. You might be able to dodge the spells but you should not be able to block them."

Ranma shrugged and said, "Just because you don't know anybody that can block them doesn't mean that nobody can." Ranma rotated his neck to alleviate himself from morning stiffness and continued, "Think you can set up some kinda shields to protect the house?"

Leading Ranma into a large creepy room Lu said, "Piece of cake my Lord."

Ranma started stretching as he watched Lu start forming shields around the room to protect it from the magical blasts that were about to be tossed around. Rotating his shoulders around Ranma asked, "So what happened last night?"

Lu paused after completing a shield and said, "I gave them a slight briefing on your more recent history."

Ranma raised an eyebrow as he stretched out and asked, "What did you tell them?"

"Just the basics, who you've fought, the title's given to you. "I left out the Neko Ken but I did warn them about the necessity of keeping cats away from you. I left out your curse because I figured that you might not want to reveal that considering that you are now a metamorphmagus."

Starting up a slow warm up kata Ranma asked, "Is that all?"

Lu sighed and said, "No my lord, I was also given a slight insight of what has been going on in your brothers life."

"Oh, that Dark Lord Monty or whatever his name was?"

"Voldemort My Lord, and it is a bit more involved than that."

After landing from a back flip Ranma asked, "Oh, really?"

"Ahem, yes. It appears that young master Harry's Headmaster is a leader of a secret organization bent on stopping this dark lord."

Ranma shrugged halfway through a snap kick and replied, "Okay,."

"It appears that the reason Dumbledore wishes your presence to remain unknown is that Master Harry is immune to the underage wizardry law's, this makes the hearing that he is appearing before on the 12'th a mute point. Dumbledore wishes to use this hearing to force Minister Fudge to acknowledge Lord Voldemort's existence. They also would most likely want your assistance and perhaps some of your warriors to help fight."

Finishing his kata Ranma said, "I got a few questions for you."

"What is it My Lord."

"Did you know that Harry's godfather is an escaped prisoner from some wizard jail?"

"My lord, if Lord Harry is in danger here we must take him away."

Ranma shook his head to get his quirky aid to calm down and said, "Harry's not in danger, from what Harry said, Sirius was innocent and I trust my brother. No I was wondering if Harry has immunity because he is my brother, then maybe there is something that I can do rather than sit on my ass."

LU took a moment to gather himself before responding with, "Well my lord, you do have enough influence to get him paroled or you could pardon him outright as a member of your family."

Ranma stopped in place and asked, "He is only Harry's godfather we share no blood."

LU stepped back a few steps preparing another spell and said, "Well, you could bring him into the kingdom as Harry's Guardian, being that you are the elder, this would then grant this Sirius immunity to whatever the British ministry attempt to retaliate with."

Ranma grinned and said, "That would be great, now how do I do that?"

Lu resisted the urge to sweat drop and deadpanned, "I'll take care of it my Lord, I will be sure to keep it under wraps so as to not disclose your presence here."

"You know, I don't like it when you say you'll take care of it and then don't even show me how you do it."

Lu sighed and said, "I know Lord Ranma, but I feel that your time would be best spent on getting to know your brother."

Ranma nodded he had to conceded that point wanting to get on with his training he asked so was there anything else?"

"Actually Lord Ranma there was one other thing that must be brought to your attention."

Deciding to do some light training in magical control while he discussed this point Ranma sat down Indian style and started to concentrate forming three magical ball's of energy and asked, "What is it and why do I feel like I'm not goin to like it."

Lu sighed as he walked into place to where he was standing right in front of Ranma and said, "Apparently this minister Fudge is dishonoring the Potter name."

Ranma bristled in place causing the three magical balls to explode in his face. After repositioning himself he growled out, "Just when I had thought my honor was safe, so what is it?"

"Lu squatted down and replied, "It appears that Minister Fudge is working with the local paper, the daily Prophet I believe, to ridicule Master Harry and make him out to be a lair, some kind of tragic hero who whines and complains and enjoys his fame."

Ranma was about to ask what Harry was famous for when he remembered. With the thought of, "_Oh yeah, he's famous because he lived when our parents were murdered."_ Pursing his lips Ranma said, "Well Harry told me about what happened at school and I believe him, he is telling the truth. So what can I do? It's not like we can simply fire everybody at the paper. And how do I get the minister to accept that this Lord Voldyshorts is alive and kicking?"

LU stared at his master dumbfounded, his bouncing with excitement he said, "Lord Ranma, that's it."

"Huh, what's it."

"Lord Ranma, using your resources you can force the current owner of the Daily Prophet to sell it to you."

Ranma blinked not knowing how this could help because he knew nothing about the newspaper business he asked, "What good does that do me? I don't know anything about running a paper?"

Lu shrugged and said, "Lord Ranma, you don't need to. If you own it they can only print what you let them."

Not really sure on this course of action he said, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to look into it, I take it you want to do this as well seeing that I am supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"You know me too well my lord."

Ranma sighed, "You know you can tell me no anytime you want."

"As you wish my Lord."

Shaking his head and sighing Ranma said, "So what about the minister?"

LU smiled evilly forcing Ranma to shudder, the look just did not look right on the elf turned man.

Watching his master shudder Lu smiled internally, he enjoyed moments like this, as a house elf he had been unable to truly express his emotions and it was fun especially when it unnerved his master so. Purring evilly he said, "I believe that this Headmaster of Lord Harry has a solution to that as well. I suspect that he will seek you out after you have had a chance to settle in."

Standing up Ranma did a quick couple of hops to loosen himself up some, wanting to know if they could continue with his training he asked, "So can we start yet?"

Lu nodded, letting his face become adorned in a cocky smirk he said, "Yes Master, I believe that today will be the day I actually hit you."

Ranma smirked he knew that Lu liked chucking magic around at him, getting into a ready stance he called out, "Bring it whenever your ready you old elf."

"Lord Ranma this 'elf' is going to make you eat those words." Lu further made his point by sending several small magical blasts at Ranma.

Grinning like an idiot Ranma pulled down his eyelid with one hand and stuck out his tongue as he dodge three incoming magical projectiles.

Lu laughed softly, he enjoyed training with his master, it made him feel so alive. Changing his tactics Lu smirked, he had picked the drawing room for practice because there was a horrible Doxy infestation in the room. He knew that Ranma liked surprised and enjoyed surprising him. Leveling his hand at the curtains he warned, "Lord Ranma, it would be prudent to not let these creatures bite you." His warning finished, Lu blasted the drapes with a weak charm that worked the Doxy's into a frenzy making them want to attack the closest human."

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	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate them. Also thanks to James Axelrad for proof reading for me. Also don't worry there will be more Harry Ranma interaction but not for a bit, I assure you though that they will soon. I also haven't planned a matchup yet, i figure if and when i get to that piont i'll figure something out.

Thanks' as always reviews are appreiciated. Enjoy the chapter

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Ranma almost paused to consider the weird looking fairy beetle looking things, but that would of left him open so instead he twisted and turned avoiding the tiny creatures. After flipping back in an attempt to gain some distance in the large room Ranma asked, "What the hell are these things and how do I stop them."

Lu was smirking, he had set up a small shield so the Doxy's couldn't get him, and after all he wasn't a martial artist who happened to be able to do sorcery. Resisting the urge to openly laugh at his lord's current predicament Lu struggled out, "Usually you would use some sort of Doxy spray, oh those are Doxy's, and annoying little pests I used to hate dealing with them when I was an elf."

Ranma managed to glare at his subject in mid turn, growling he said, "So your plan was to just blast them and let me deal with them by myself."

Lu smirked, and deadpanned, "But Lord Ranma, you can handle anything. Don't tell me that your going to let some little annoying household pests get the better of you."

Shaking his head not in disagreement but to avoid a twin doxy attacks aimed for his face Ranma growled, "NO way are some fairy bug thingys going to beat me!"

Lu chuckled lightly, he was really trying to get Ranma to think before he acts but sometimes Ranma's brashness caused him to have rather profound results when it came to magic and martial arts. Deciding to rile Ranma up a bit more ho mockingly called out, "Wooh is me. What have I done to be fated with such a weak master that he can't even defeat little tiny defenseless Doxy's." Watching his results Lu couldn't help but smile in pride, his master was truly talented as well as gifted.

Ranma growled in irritation Lu was being no help at all. "_Okay Potter, what would Brian Boytano do? Probably a toe tuck or two. Gah what the hell am I thinking, must have had some bad rice. Alright Potter the chips are down it's now or never, how are you going to take care of these creepy little things_

"_I could just keep smacking them around but that's not working. Maybe if I use some magic to paralyze them?"_

"_But if I do that, what do I envision, should I just picture these things being a statue, naw that'd probably turn them into stone, probably make them more difficult to get rid of. Hmm, I could just picture them frozen, yeah that should work, but the attack needs a cool name, might as well take it from my usual source."_

Grinning like an idiot Ranma called out, "FREEZE ARROW." Causing an arrow made of ice about the size of Ranma's forearm shot out and hit a doxy dead on causing the doxy to fly back and smack into the wall. With a thud the now grapefruit sized doxy container landed on the floor.

Lu sweat dropped, he could recognize a case of overkill when he saw it, couching politely he asked, "A bit much master?"

Ranma, looked at the ball of ice and wanted to sweat drop, but then he shrugged and joyfully called out, "Hey it works don't it."

--------- Elsewhere in the house of black

Molly Weasley woke up with a yawn, feeling the warm body of her husband laying next to her she gave the body a shove forcefully waking him from his slumber.

"Ummph, oh morning honey."

Shrugging on a robe Molly called out, "Don't morning me mister, you overslept. You need to get ready if you want breakfast."

Stretching out his arms Arthur Weasley made his way to prepare for his day.

Walking down the stairs Molly heard a slight commotion coming from the drawing room; fearful of something bad happening she hurried over to the closed door. Opening it slightly so as to not let the room's occupants be alerted to her presence she peered in and was quite shocked to what she saw. At first she thought it was Harry in the center of the drawing room, but then her mind reminded her that there were now two potters. There was Harry and then there was this Adonis, sure she might be married but that doesn't mean she can't appreciate the view. As the morning fog cleared her mind though she realized what he was doing, the young man was playing with doxies and turning them into ice balls. There were doxies Flying about the room trying to attack him while his aid just stood there and watched. She was about to charge in there and give them both a piece of her mind when she noticed a hand come down on her shoulder. Turning she gasped, "Don't do that! Sirius, what are you doing? Don't you see that Ranma is in danger?"

Sirius shook his head he might not know martial arts but he knows training when he sees it, speaking low as to not disturb the rooms occupants he said, "Molly, they're not hurting anything, besides you've been wanting to clear that room out for awhile now. Look most of the Doxies are already taken care of. Hey Molly, you notice anything odd about how Ranma is taking care of them?"

Molly stared into the room for a moment before she exclaimed, "Merlin's Beard, I had thought that Mr. Sun was off his rocker last night talking about wandless magic."

Sirius nodded quietly and added, "Yeah, me too. Damm look at Ranma, he's good."

Molly flushed slightly as she thought, "_My he's quite good, and fast too." _Attempting to regain her slightly flushed composure said, "My, I have better get going and get breakfast started, it wouldn't due for our guests to go hungry."

Sirius just waved her off, he too was entranced by his newly found godsons movements. Settling against the wall Sirius just watched as Ranma took out the rest of the Doxies.

_-------- A few minutes later--------_

Ranma had just finished off the last of the Doxy's and had entered a cool down, when he called out, "You can come in."

Startled Sirius almost fell forward but managed to catch himself after an embarrassing display of his arms flailing about.

Ranma stopped his cool down and walked over to Sirius with concern written on his face, stopping a few feet from him he asked, "Are you ok?"

Sirius nodded, shaking his head he said, "Sorry, I kind of go distracted there, you and your brother Harry look just like your father. I was just reminiscing of a sort."

Ranma nodded and offered his had, "I'm Ranma by the way."

"I'm Sirius Black, friend of your parents and your and Harry's godfather."

"My Lord, if I may take my leave, I shall take care of those errands for you." interjected Lu.

Ranma nodded and said, "Yeah, go ahead… And Lu be careful."

"As always my lord."

Turning back To Sirius Ranma grinned sheepishly as his stomach growled.

Sirius grinned and said, "Yep, just like your father, shall we go down into the kitchen and see if Mrs. Weasley has started breakfast yet."

-------- A few minutes later in the kitchen

Ranma was about to dig into some of the pastries when his hand was whacked away from the delightful looking morsels, Confused Ranma asked, "What was that for?"

Molly sighed youngsters these days, Giving her best stern but sympathetic look she said, "We will wait for everybody else to get down here before you start eating, besides its not like you were raised in the wild or something."

Ranma shrugged and deadpanned, "Virtually."

Sirius shook his head apparently Ranma didn't know whom he was talking to, either that or Potter foot in mouth is genetic. Seizing the moment Sirius said, "Ah, Ranma why don't you go wake up the twins and tell them to get everyone else up." Seeing Ranma's blank look Sirius said, "Ah, yes that's right you didn't have a chance to meet them yet. Fred and George are the other two occupants in the room you slept in last night."

Ranma shrugged, he actually didn't think that he'd be able to start without the others but it was worth a shot, hey he was hungry. Giving off a sheepish wave he said, "I'll be back." He then dissaperated with a loud pop.

Molly sighed and exclaimed, "Honestly another one, it's not like it's that much trouble to walk up the stairs."

Sirius grinned and said; "Somehow I don't think it was out of laziness that he apparated, I would bet that he's pretty hungry after that work out this morning. He seems to be a pretty good kid too."

Molly sighed, "We'll see, for Harry's sake I hope so. I'd hate for his brother to be some sort of louse."

Sirius nodded and supplied, "Some how I don't think that that's the case."

--------- Harry and Ron's room -----

Harry was dreaming, more like having one of those dreams that should be a nightmare but isn't because of a lack of a particular detail that seems to avoid being known. Within the realm of the sandman Harry was walking down an old dark corridor. There was nothing really worthy of note in the hall, well that is if you discount the massive locked door that seemed the only way out. Or rather it seemed to be the only way to move forward.

Harry was then woken up to Ron shaking him furiously on his shoulder. Looking up at his best friend he asked, "What?"

"Come on Harry, Mum has breakfast ready.

Harry groaned the details of the dream falling into the darker recesses of his mind, as he got ready to go down stairs.

---- Kitchen a few minutes later -------

"You've met Sirius, that's my husband Arthur, our sons Bill, Fred and Gorge, Next to Harry id our youngest son Ron. That is my daughter Ginny sitting next to her is Hermione. I believe that you met Remus Lupin Last night."

Ranma nodded and offered a small bow. Smiling happily he said, "I really appreciate you taking me in like this."

"Oh non-sense dear, like we are going to let you stay out of the street." chided Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you none the less, now that the introductions have been taken care of I have good news."

Hermione piped up, "The Chicago Cubs are actually going to get a coach that knows how to coach?" (Couldn't resist)

Insert multiple face faults.

Shaking his head sadly Ranma said, "No unfortunately, the organization has no common sense and no love for its fans, but that's beside the point. No the good news I have has to do directly with Harry and what happened last night

(AN: Who doesn't like the cubs? That's my argument for having that remark.)

Silence fell about the table, Ranma knowing that he had everyone's attention stated proudly, "It has come to my attention that Harry has diplomatic immunity because he is my brother and in the eye's of the people of Jusenkyo he is my only heir to my lands and titles and therefore the British ministry of magic cannot expel Harry nor can they do anything to punish him, without facing serous consequences from three different governments."(Ranma is inferring to the Chinese and Japanese ministries as well as Jusenkyo."

Ranma allowed it to sink in and a moment later Harry was mobbed with a series of congratulatory backslaps and Hugs from the women as well as the usual congratulatory comment. Deciding to further brighten the moods of those at the table Ranma asked, "So Harry I have a question for you."

Still smiling at what his newfound brother has done for him Harry beamed, "Go ahead."

Ranma smirked and asked, "How do you feel about Sirius?"

Harry blinked caught off guard, not sure how to answer the question.

Ranma noticed that Harry was a bit uncomfortable with the question he clarified, "Would you prefer to stay with Sirius or our Aunt when you are not at school?"

"Sirius, I'd rather stay with him." Slightly confused Harry asked, "Why are you going anywhere?"

Ranma shook his head and said, "No, no, I'm here until you get rid of me little bro. No I needed to be sure about something."

"Oh."

Noticing that the room was still quiet Ranma continued, "See I had to be certain about your feeling on Sirius because I have taken the liberty to do something. I hope you do not mind but I took the liberty of…" Ranma paused for dramatic effect, seeing the raging curiosity filling everyone's faces Ranma continued, "Now take in mind it will take a few days to go through but it will."

"WHAT IS IT?" Chorused a series of voices.

Ranma chuckled and said, "Well, I hope you don't mind but when Harry talked to me yesterday I got a feeling that he would rather live with Sirius than our moms sister. So I spoke with Lu and we came up with a doable solution." Noticing that people were starting to loose patience with him he finished, "I have named Sirius Harry's guardian and have pardoned him."

Socked faces stared back at Ranma, feeling his good deeds done for the day Ranma decided to attempt to partake in breakfast, however he was stopped by Sirius question, "You have connections that we don't doubt, but how are you able to do this?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "The three kingdoms in Jusenkyo, have a lot of odd laws to ensure that heirs are taken care of."

"Yeah but they can't possibly have that much influence." Said Arthur rather exasperated.

Ranma shrugged he didn't really understand how he could do it either but Lu was always right, deciding to parrot something Lu said a while back to him Ranma said, "It pay's to have the largest standing magical army in the magical world. I cannot get away with whatever I want, but the Japanese and Chinese allow me some leeway to keep me happy or so I've been told. Because honestly it seems a little much for them to go out of the way like that, but hey whatever works right. Lu will be back by lunch with the papers clearing you and placing you under the protection of Jusenkyo."

------------

After breakfast Mrs. Weasley had those who remained in the house go into the Drawing Room to finish what Ranma had involuntarily started that morning.

Ranma was casually leaning against the wall waiting for Mrs. Weasley while he chatted with Fred and George. Hearing a commotion Ranma turned his head and his jaw dropped, partially in shock he asked, "What the hell is that thing?"

Fred and George looked at him incredulously and said, "That there my friend is a the most noble of creatures."

"This one in particular is the most dutiful."

"Hardworking.."

"Mean-spirited.."

"Crazier than a loon.."

"Mockery of its breed."

"The noble Kreacher, the Black family House elf."

Ranma stared at the house elf for several seconds, he knew that Lu used to be a house elf but he never truly appreciated what it meant. This one was old looking and even though it was bald it had a patch of gray hairs coming out from its ears, it's skin sagged as if it was meant for a larger frame, and it wore a filthy rag as a lion cloth. Unfortunately Ranma's scrutiny had alerted the elf of his presence. Ranma noticed that the creature seemed to walk away from Hermione who was talking about Harry to it, but the creature ignored her as he zoomed in on Ranma's position.

"Who are you to stare at Kreacher, like that?"

"He's Harry's older brother, the one everybody thought was dead." Chimed Fred.

Kreacher bowed and mutter, "Kreacher wishes young sir stayed dead instead of coming here." He continued on with, "Oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh, the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do…'

"Kreacher, what are you doing in here?" asked Ron.

"Kreacher is cleaning."

"Yeah right, tell me another one." came a voice from the door.

Upon hearing the voice Kreacher turned and upon seeing Sirius he bowed ridiculously low and said, "Kreacher is cleaning, Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of black."

"And it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy,' said Sirius.

"Master always liked his little joke," said Kreacher, bowing again, and continuing in an undertone, "Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart."

Sirius snorted and responded, "Yeah right, the old bag didn't even have a heart. She lived to make others miserable."

Kreacher bowed again his nose touching the ground and said, "Master is right as always." Still bowing he growled out, "Master is not fit to lick the dung from the Misses boots. My poor mistress what would she say to old Kreacher now, forced to serve her ungrateful brat of a son. It would break her heart to see Kreacher so forced to deal with, mud bloods, blood traitors and half-breeds in her house."

Annoyed at the disrespectful house elf Sirius snapped, "Enough, I asked you what you were doing, and don't say cleaning because we both know that's not the case. Every time you claim to be cleaning you attempt to sneak something up to your room so we can't get rid of it."

"Kreacher would never consider, moving any of the Misses things, misses would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestries were tossed out like common garbage. Seven centuries they have been in the family, Kreacher must save them, Kreacher won't let master and the blood traitors destroy them."

Sirius sighed he had figured this much, they were probably multiple sticking charms on the backs of them too. Looking at his insolent house elf he said, "I will get rid of what I can and you will not stop me, now get out of here."

Not wanting to directly disobey Sirius Kreacher complied while glaring daggers at his master and muttering, "Escapes from Azkaban, comes here and orders poor Kreacher around, my poor mistress what is old Kreacher to do? They say he is a murderer, too, filthy lot this is blood traitors half-breeds."

Sirius slammed the door shut not wanting to listen to the old elf any longer."

"Sirius I don't think he realizes that we can hear him." Hermione said.

Sirius gave a slightly exasperated sigh and said, "He's spent too much time by himself and taking mad orders from my mothers portrait."

Looking at the man pleadingly Hermione said, "You could set him free."

Sirius shook his head and replied, "The shock would probably kill him, but that's a mute point, we can't because he knows too much about the order." Sirius then walked over to see what Kreacher had been attempting to protect. Ranma and the others followed him closely curious as well.

The Tapestry was old, looking like it dated back to the middle ages, it had several little holes in it as if the Doxy's had gone to town on it. In large script across the top read, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

"You're not on here!" Exclaimed several voices."

Sirius nodded and said, "Mother probably took me off when I ran away." Pointing at a small scorch mark he said, "See, this is where I used to be." Laughing slightly he said, "Actually Kreacher is quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."

Curious Harry asked, "Why did you run away and where did you go?"

Sirius leaned against the wall noticing that Ranma was eyeing the tapestry and said, "Just a sec Harry, Ranma I doubt that you can get that off, but go ahead and try." Turning his attention back to Harry Sirius said, "Honestly Harry take a look around here, does this place look like a place that you would want to live in if you didn't have to?"

Harry shook his head, he could honestly say that the only reason he would want to live here was to get away from his Aunt and Uncle.

Continuing with his story Sirius said, "I Ran away when I was sixteen, fortunately I was able to stay with your and Ranma's father. His mother treated me like a second son. Had a lot of good times back then…"

"So you just left here because the house was creepy?" Interrupted Ranma as he was in the process of having half of the tapestry off the wall, unfortunately it was sticking to his arms.

Sirius shook his head not noticing his older godsons predicament and replied, "No, I was just tired of it all, they were pro pure blood monsters, my younger brother was a death eater. I had a Cousin that tried to pass a bill in the ministry to make muggle hunting legal, an aunt that started the tradition of beheading house elves when they get too old to carry tea trays. I had another relative that was the least popular headmaster of Hogwarts in history. About the only people that are any good in the family are taken off of here. Tonks is my Cousin, you won't find her mom here because she married a muggle."

Harry was watching Ranma struggle with the tapestry now it was completely off of the wall, however it was now wrapped around Ranma as he struggles to get it off. Seeing a spot that caught his interest Harry exclaimed, "You're related to the Malfoy's?"

Sirius shrugged and responded, "All the pure blood families are interrelated somehow. The only way for pure blood families to remain that way is by marrying another purebloods and over time…" For the first time Sirius noticed what Ranma was doing Looking shocked, puzzled and confused he asked, "How did you get that off? No, Never mind I don't want to know. If you need to tear that up to get it off of you feel free to do so, it's going in the trash."

Ranma grinned sheepishly, it was pretty easy to get the thing off the wall but then the Damm thing started to stick to him. Shrugging at the fact that Sirius didn't care if he damaged it Ranma half walked/struggled to the middle of the room. Flexing his muscles while leaning back Ranma called out, "Flame on."

Immediately his form was shrouded with flames, soon the tapestry was being devoured and Ranma was surrounded by an awe struck audience.

"Bloody brilliant."

"How did you do that?"

"Incredible."

"What is that?"

Ranma chuckled softly as he dispelled the flames, tugging the base of his pigtail he said, "Well uhm, I wasn't sure if that was going to work or not, see it is a defensive spell, while I'm like that I am shielded to an extent, unfortunately Lu won't use any of the stronger spells against it so I don't know how well it works against more potent magic."

"We'll be more than happy to help you out with that." Chimed Fred.

"Ah yes, all in the name of progress, the life of a Wizard is fraught with peril." Added George.

Ranma almost sweat dropped at the familiar saying, but stalwartly resisted his urges. He was about to respond when Mrs. Weasley called out, "Lunch."

Everybody took off for breakfast excluding for once Ranma. He was joined by Harry and Sirius."

Sirius looked at Ranma and asked, "Just how good are you?"

Old Ranma would pound his chest and proudly shout that he was the greatest, however this was a newer Ranma that did not have the problems of old Ranma. There was no curse, because he was a metamorphmagus now and able to control his form so there was no longer the need to reaffirm his masculinity every other minute. This Ranma no longer just used confidence to power his ki so he was a bit more level headed. More so this Ranma was happy something he never really considered in his old life. Turning around Ranma said, "I don't know. It's not a contest to be, I practice and try to excel because I believe that my father would want me to be my best no matter how good I am or am not."

Sirius nodded, "James had been like that, putting his arms around his two godsons Sirius steered them down to the kitchen.

During lunch Molly informed them that they were going to move on in the cleaning, the drawing room was basically done, it just had some stray creature locked in the desk but they were going to wait for moody to take a look at it. Right after lunch they were going to clean out a room for Ranma.

Ranma had tried to tell them that he could clean himself out a room but Sirius interjected and said, "Actually, Molly and I want you to help git rid of all these portraits and tapestries that are all over the house."

"Why?"

"Because they are annoying, I don't want them, most of them I couldn't stand when they were alive, and I think that they would look better in the garbage."

-----------------------

And so a routine was set at the house of Black, that day Ranma had a room cleaned out one that he was sharing with Lu as there were beginning to be a shortage of bedrooms with nine of them already in use.

(Bill, Fred and George, Harry and Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione, Lupin, Sirius, Ranma and Lu, Kreacher.)

Almost all the portraits were removed, with the exception of Mrs. Black because Sirius enjoyed the Faces she made after Ranma silenced her with a pressure point that shouldn't of had worked but did and was defying all logic, not that there is a lot of logic as far as magic is concerned.

Later that day Lu returned and handed Sirius a few papers that freed him of a lot of his problems, no longer was he a wanted man and the ministry was forced to recognize his status as Harry's guardian, giving him immunity from their retaliations.

It had been a couple of day's and Moody hadn't been in to take care of the Boggart that was locked in the desk in the drawing room, however due to Ranma's speed the entire house had been cleaned and was looking rather bare.

There even was a large room in the cellar that once it had been cleaned out Sirius had offered it to Ranma to allow him to practice his martial arts in piece seeing that he had managed to gain too much attention whenever he practiced it in the drawing room.

Ranma had also taken the liberty to decorate his room and his temporary training hall. He had been carrying several items using a combination of magic and hidden weapons. His pensieve was kept upstairs in his and Lu's room but that was because it held rather sensitive material. But the room in the cellar was now adorned with a series of scrolls lined up against the wall like wallpaper for easier reference. There were a few sets of armor that Ranma had because they were gifts from the Phoenix and Musk. All types of Chinese weapons that Ranma had to familiar himself with as warmaster.

Some people might be surprised about that small development as well but Ranma had never truly been against weapons, he just did not like to depend on them. Plus when he was with Genma he would get harped on for being girly and needing a weapon or something like that. But Ranma didn't care; because he knew that there are things in the world that he wouldn't want to touch.

However just because things were going good did not mean that Ranma was ok. See for the first time in his life he was actually being confined into a house that despite now being clean was still rather dark and gloomy. During his life Ranma had been accustomed to being outside, whether he was training or not he was almost always found outside. However he was currently not allowed outside because Dumbledore wanted to keep his presence a secret. This leads to Ranma's current predicament, he was sitting in his room having just finished a session in his Pensieve, it always takes him at least a half hour to compose himself after leaving his literal thoughts, but he has been getting better.

He had started using a Pensieve because Herb and Saffron had both told him that it would be the first step in recovering from the techniques, they had admitted that thy didn't know a lot about it because it was a barbaric and stupid technique, and only a complete idiot would train a child in it. (Remember though Genma was being compelled)

So after Saffron and Jackie Cho assisted Ranma in pulling out the memories they then stored them in the pensieve and kept an enchantment on it so that no one can tamper with the memories.

Ranma had just managed to snap himself out of the haze he fell into whenever he used the pensive, it was a dreadful reminder to him, seeing his own self suffer through being thrown repeatedly into the pit with all the cats clawing, it was a literal hell for Ranma and the only way he got through his sessions was by taking calming lozenges that temporarily displace his fears.

The reason why Ranma was taking the lozenges was that he had to be present In the pit. The only way that he would be able to do so with out freaking out, is to take the lozenges because they calmed him and kept him from reverting back into the neko ken while he was watching himself. Prince Herb and Cologne had hypothesized that Ranma might be able to over come the trauma inflicted by the technique if he was forced to face it and come to terms with it. Part of the plan was to lower the dosages without Ranma knowing.

Also unknown to Ranma is what Lu had to swear in order to be placed as Ranma's aide.

------------- Flashback --------

Originally there had been a dispute over whether Ranma was going to receive an Phoenix, Musk or Amazon aide, but they could not agree to which party would have their forces given the honor of being Ranma's assistant. It wasn't until Cologne had said that they had a former house elf that had been turned into a human that the arguing had stopped.

It had stopped because Lu had been the perfect choice; he was neither Amazon Musk nor Phoenix but was familiar with their laws being a resident of the valley for twenty years. He was also someone that was not easily accepted by any of the three kingdoms because of him being a former house elf. Cologne had been aware that Sun Lu was still capable of doing magic but had kept it hidden because the elder whose plan it was to capture and curse him had been a rival of hers before she passed away fifteen years ago.

When Lu had been brought before the assembled council of Saffron, Herb and Cologne they had asked him several questions about where his true loyalties lay. Lu decided to be honest and say that he held no loyalties to the amazons because of how he was treated and stated that he would be weary to trust any of them given his experiences. Lu had been offered a choice, he could have his freedom or he could serve Ranma. Naturally Lu would of preferred freedom but as a former House elf he felt inclined to serve and was curious about this man whom had bested the supposed best, plus he was wildly aware that the magical community would never be able to accept him because of what he symbolized.

When he asked what was so different about Ranma, they explained. Cologne had even went and filled him in as much background information as she could deciding that in this case full disclosure was a necessity. Lu had been horrified at what he had learned among Saffron and Prince Herb who had no knowledge of what Ranma had been through. Lu had decided upon hearing Ranma's background that he would indeed willingly serve Ranma as his retainer. It was then that Saffron laid the final surprise upon the group; he stated that whomever was chosen to serve Ranma would have to invoke a magical blood oath of loyalty to ensure that he could never be placed under compulsion to do harm to Ranma. It was at that moment that Lu realized exactly what they wanted; they wanted someone loyal to Ranma and Ranma only, someone that would keep his best interests in mind, who would not take actions against him. So he decided to perform the blood oath effectively returning him into bondage but in a way that left him satisfied. However, he would still be able to leave his position if Ranma released him, if that were to happen then Lu would no longer serve Ranma but still be magically forced to be unable to betray Ranma without dire consiquence

------------ End flashback -------------------

Sitting on the bed Ranma turned to Lu and stated, "I need to get out of here for a bit or I'll go crazy."

Lu nodded, this was the first time that they had used the Pensieve inside and his master seemed more distressed than usual. After standing silent for a minute Lu Said softly, "Lord Ranma, Lady Ranko has had no such limitations put on her."

Ranma sighed, frustrated with himself and said, "I can't believe I didn't think about that."

"No worry my Lord, you are quite stressed after your sessions."

Ranma smacked his head with his hand and exclaimed, "It won't work, and I can't apperate out of the house the wards are in place."

LU nodded and said, "Perhaps it would be best if you used the door, covertly of course."

Ranma frowned and said, "I don't know how long I can keep the Umi sen ken up when I'm like this."

"My Lord, it will get better with time you just need to be patient and take your time, and eventually you will recover from this."

Standing up Ranma said, "Alright, but for now I want out of here, I'll follow you down to the door, you can open it up, I'll sneak out under the umi sen ken and transform then I'll wander around and stretch my legs a bit. There is about three to four hours until the shift change on the guards outside, so when I come back I'll just wait for someone to follow in here."

Lu smirked and replied humbly, "It sounds like a good plan my Lord."

Ranma looked at Lu appreciatively and softly said, "Thanks Lu, you have no idea how much your help means to me."

Lu nodded, he had an idea of what Ranma felt but felt that Ranma would rather it be left unsaid. Turning to his charge he said, "Any time your ready my Lord."

Ranma grumbled, "Do you always have to call me that, can't you just call me Ranma?"

Lu shook his head and replied, "Yes, I do. Your title and position make it necessary." Quietly he muttered, "Besides sometimes it's fun to get a reaction out of you."

Leading the way down the stairs Lu said, "I believe that it might be wise to make yourself invisible less anybody see you leaving."

Ranma nodded, entered the Umi sen ken and followed Lu downstairs to the door.

Opening the door to the house Lu whispered, "Be careful Master, and I'll see you soon."

Ranma whispered back, "Thanks Lu."

Once outside Ranma invoked his transformation, turning him female, then he muttered a few words and his usual silk clothes shifted to fit her body leaving her in a female version of her usual clothes. Once she reached the street Ranma released the umi sen ken and started walking aimlessly to clear her mind.

---------- Inside the house -------

Lu walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink currently the only other occupant was Mrs. Weasley who was busy attempting to redecorate making the room a bit less gloomy. After grabbing a glass of Butter Beer he turned to leave and go down into the basement where Ranma had his training room set up.

"Where are you going Mr. Sun?"

Lu turned and said, "Lord Ranma is resting in his room, I thought I might go downstairs and see if there is anything down there for me to straiten up."

Molly nodded and said, "Okay, if you see Fred or George down there tell them that I told them that I don't want them down there by themselves, they might hurt themselves with all those weapons down there."

Lu nodded at the woman's motherly concern and said, "Of course ma'am and do feel free to call me Lu."

"Okay Lu, dinner won't be for several hours yet, just so you know."

Lu turned leaving the woman to her redecorating and made his way downstairs.

A few minutes later the kitchen was filled with two loud cracks as Fred and George apparated in the room. Seeing his mother Fred asked, "Mum, have you seen Ranma about?"

Molly sighed, sometimes her sons were so ungrateful, here she was making the house more appealing and they didn't even say anything about it. Huffing slightly she said, "Mr. Sun said that he was upstairs in his room, he is…"

Molly did not even have time to finish what she was saying as the room was once again filled with two loud cracks signifying that he two sons had just apparated somewhere else. With a sigh she went back to her redecorating.

---- Meanwhile with Ranma ------------------

Ranma had been walking slowly for several minutes paying attention to where she was going so she wouldn't get lost. Seeing a corner up ahead she walked inconspicuously around the corner and waited.

Tonks had been bored, Dumbledore had been clear that no less than two people were to keep an eye out on 12 Grimewald place just incase something happened. Today she had been standing guard with Kingsley Shacklebolt seeing that he no longer had to make up locations for Sirius to be hiding. Of course as far as the ministry knew Sirius had yet to be pardoned. Dumbledore hand requested that Kingsley keep it on the down low until the day of Harry's hearing, he hoped that that news would distract them enough to where Harry would not need his triumph card.

Today though halfway into their shift Tonks and Kingsley had noticed the door to the residence open revealing Ranma's assistant Lu standing there, after a minute he closed the door. But the interesting thing was that seconds after the door closed a young busty redhead seemed to appear out of thin air. Tonks knew that she hadn't apparated because there was no way to silently apperate, she also did not see any evidence of an invisibility cloak. Nodding at Kingsley she followed the redhead afraid that their headquarters had been compromised.

As she tracked the young woman she noticed that she seemed to be taking her time and walking almost aimlessly just paying close enough attention to her surroundings to know where she was. After a few more minutes of tailing her Tonks noticed the girl turn the corner, not wanting to lose her Tonks hastened her pace and turned the corner only to see nothing.

Suddenly Tonks was relieved of her invisibility cloak as a voice calmly asked, "Why are you following me?"

Tonks turned to the voice and stared at the redhead, she thought, "_Do I know her? She looks awfully familiar but I can't place it." _The girl re-asking her original question brought her out of her musings. Shifting her position so that her wand was readily available and within her grasp. Speaking firmly she turned the tables and said, "What were you doing at 12 Grimewald place?"

Ranma blinked she had forgotten that no-one knew about her former cursed form, she had been used to people knowing her by sight in Nerima and Lu never reacted to her any differently in her current form. Sighing she said, "Relax it's me Ranma."

Tonks scoffed at that, not even an advanced metamorphmagus could completely change gender. Staring at the redhead as if she was being called an idiot Tonks said, "Yeah right red, tell me another one."

Ranma sighed, it was never easy. Knowing that she would be risking exposure if she transformed in public Ranma reached our with a blur, hitting a pressure point on Tonks that left her temporarily unable to speak and started to drag her into the closest store. Once in the store that happened to be a women's boutique Ranma grabbed two random items off of the rack not paying any attention to what they were. Still dragging Tonks Ranma led her into a changing room.

Once in the small closet, aka-changing room, Ranma turned to Tonks and said, "It's me Ranma, if you give me a minute I'll prove it. Mumbling to herself Ranma's attire restored itself, seeing the questionable look Tonks was giving her Ranma said, "It's nice to wear clothes that fit, but I can't change while wearing them because it'll hurt, trust me on that." A moment later Ranma shifted forms to Prove to Tonks that he was indeed him. Ranma then whispered, "Now I have to change back ok, because I came in here as a girl, I'll have to leave here as a girl.

Ranma reversed both transformations and dragged a shocked but complying Tonks back to the exit, she was about to leave when she noticed what she had in her hands, not wanting to make any type of scene Ranma bit the bullet and calmly walked up to the counter to but them, not caring about the size and because she had failed to realize what type of store she had walked into, plus it would be embarrassing to put them back when there were two elder woman standing at the rack that she had pulled the two items from.

-------- A few minutes and several pounds later ------

A blushing Ranma walked out of the store with a still semi shocked Tonks tailing behind her. After they had walked a decent distance away from the shop Ranma turned and let her arm blur out reinstating Tonks ability to speak.

Tonks just stood there for a minute allowing herself to regain her composure. Once she was positive that she had a handle on what as going on she calmly turned to Ranma and asked, "If you had wanted to go shopping, you just needed to ask. Although I did not think that you were into leather."

Still blushing from the store Ranma's cheeks reddened further making her appear almost tomatoish in color. However instead of denying what Tonks had said Ranma asked, "That's it? You're not going to call me a pervert or nothing? No, are you a boy or a girl? You're not going to reach out and grab my breast?"

Tonks shook her head and replied, "No. Who am I to judge you and why should I call you a pervert? As an Auror, that ability could come in rather handy. I can tell you're a guy by the way you move. And not unless you want me to." Tonks added with a wink.

Ranma was flabbergasted, besides Lu and Mr. Cho nobody had easily accepted her as she was without some measure of pity, distain or anger. Then the last part sunk into the forefront of Ranma's mind causing a system shut down. It was not that Ranma was turning into a pervert or anything bad, it is just in the past few months Ranma had been experiencing mental growth. This growth was partially due to her recent life changes, I.E. finding out that she had a long lost brother, Being able to gain a measure of control over her life and partially because she was no longer being put through the gauntlet that is known as Nerima.

Tonks noticing that Ranma had not yet come to her senses grabbed her arm and said, "Come on I see a malt shop up ahead, my treat."

---------- Back at the house ------------

Crack

Fred and George Weasley apparated into Ranma's room and immediately noticed that it was empty of it's pigtailed occupant they were about to apparate somewhere else when Fred exclaimed, "Hey George look at that!"

George turned his head to where his brother was pointed and said, "It's a Pensieve."

"I know what it is," said Fred indigently, as he walked over to it. Once he was standing over it he said, "Come here, it has memories in it."

With mischief in his eyes George said, "What do you think they are of? Old girlfriends?"

"Brother dear you might be right. How could Ranma be holding out on us like this?"

"Fred, we have no choice but to teach Ranma the value of sharing."

Rubbing his chin with his hand Fred replied, "True, true. But first should we invade his privacy and learn the secrets that he is keeping from his two new buds?"

Together they both exclaimed, "Of course he'll forgive us later.

Downstairs in the kitchen Molly had just finished re-coloring the walls, instead of it's former dark and foreboding colors the walls were now a country blue color, that served to brighten up the room and erase a bit of the gloomy feeling on got by entering the room. She was about to start on the floors when Sirius walked in the Room to grab himself something to drink, probably Romanian whiskey, seeing that besides butter beer and water there was not a lot to drink considering how many people were at the house on a regular basis.

Giving off a soft whistle Sirius chirped, "If only mother was here to appreciate the changes you've made." Snapping his fingers he exclaimed, "She's not but perhaps I can get Ranma to see if he can take down her portrait without damaging it and have him place it in here. That way she'll see the outstanding job that you've been doing."

Molly smiled at the praise it felt good for her hard work to be recognized, even though Sirius probably only liked it because it would of horrified his mother. Deciding to chastise him a bit she said, "you know you should not torment that portrait like you do."

Sirius grinned ruefully and responded, "But molly it's fun, you should try it. You'll be satisfied for weeks."

"I'm sure." Molly said while rolling her eyes.

"Hey have you seen Ranma? I had wanted to ask him if he wanted to do a little dueling."

Molly stared at Sirius and chided, "Sirius, He's just a boy. You can't go around acting like he and Harry are old enough to do what you and James used to."

CRACK / CRACK

Instead of rebutting Molly, Sirius turned his attention to the room's two new occupants and immediately was concerned. Fred and George looked Pale and physically ill, as he rushed forward to help them he heard molly exclaim, "What happened?"

The two adults grabbed the teens and guided them over to a table. Once they were seated Fred noticed the Whiskey on the table without even a second thought he grasped the bottle and downed a good amount. His shaking hands then held the bottle out to George whom grabbed a hold with both hands to drink. The two adults watched questionably as the two teens sat there shaking.

(I have no idea at what age wizards are allowed to drink so I'm gonna say seventeen because I want to keep the story on track.)

Deciding that they must of found something rather frightening Molly said, ""Take your time and tell us what happened.

After a few minutes George was still muttering when he wasn't downing alcohol but Fred had recovered enough to regain some of his senses.

Seeing that Fred was coming back to reality Molly looked at her son with concern clearly written on her face and asked, "Dear, what's wrong? Tell me what happened?"

George, still in shock and not in control of his faculties blurted out, "RANMA'S A DARK LORD, HE TORTURED SOME KID AND KEEPS THE MEMORY SO HE CAN REVEL IN IT AT HIS LIESURE."

Molly and Sirius both blinked, shocked at the notion that Ranma whom appeared to be fairly nice and Easy going could be some type of sinister dark lord.

Sirius was having an especially difficult time coming to terms with that bit of information, considering that he liked Ranma, Harry's brother and James son. Shaking his head he said, "Now let's not jump to conclusions, I'm sure that there is a reasonable explanation to this."

Despite the fact that Molly liked Ranma, she was still over protective when ever Harry was concerned and did not want to risk Harry getting hurt. Narrowing her eyes at her two children she snapped, "Explain. NOW!"

Fred blinked and instantly what they had done and saw in Ranma's room came gushing out of his mouth.

Molly and Sirius's faces had turned ashen over the details they had been given. After Fred had completed the story Molly turned to Sirius and asked, "What do we do? If Harry finds out he'll be crushed."

Glancing between the two boys and Molly Sirius scratched his chin and said, "I'll go get Remus, and you stay here. When I get back you and I will go up and take a look at this supposed torture while Remus keeps Lu busy." Turning to the twins he asked, "Where's Ranma now?"

Both twins shook their head and replied simultaneously, "Don't know we thought he was in his room."

Molly turned to Sirius and said, "Mr. Sun said that Ranma was in his room."

"Well obviously he isn't, unless he's hiding under an invisibility cloak. I still think that this is just a big mis understanding."

"Misunderstanding, Mr. Sun told us that the Pensieve held training memories not torturing a child." Molly scoffed, "As much as you want them to be neither Ranma nor Harry is James, and we only met Ranma a few day's ago. How do we know that we can trust him?"

Walking out of the room Sirius muttered, "Dumbledore trusts him otherwise he wouldn't be here, there has to be something that we are missing."

------- A few minutes later-----

Remus had been brought down into the kitchen and filled in on what had happened. After giving a few last minute instructions to Remus that he was to detain Sun Lu if he attempted to go anywhere and that if Ranma appeared he was to stall him until they came back down Molly and Sirius snuck upstairs to Ranma's room.

Walking into the room Sirius took notice of the twin pools of vomit near the Pensieve, with a quick flick of his wand the two pools dissolved into thin air. Walking up to the Pensieve he took Molly's hand and asked, "Ready?" Noticing her hesitation he added, "Molly you don't need to do this."

Molly shook her head and replied, "No I need to know if it's true for Harry."

Sirius nodded sadly and said, "I hope for all our sakes that this is just a big misunderstanding. Alright get ready, we are going in."

Molly nodded weakly as Sirius placed his hand upon her arm and they were pulled into the pensive.

Immediately upon entering they felt like they were falling and then with a thud they began to feel like they were literally being torn savagely into pieces, it took Sirius a couple of agonizing seconds to regain control and shift their awareness away from what was attacking them.

Molly gasped, at the sight that greeted them. Sirius and her were standing in a dark pit; its only source of light was coming from in between the planks that were serving as a trap door. The ground was covered in a mass of small moving bodies and the stench was nauseating. Then something caught her eye in the corner, coming to her senses she could hear crying, curious but with a sinking feeling of dread she moved closer to the sounds. Once she was within range for her limited vision to see what was going on. She recoiled in shock and fearfully called out, "Merlin's Beard, Sirius, I think I found it."

Sirius had been standing still watching the events play out in a sick fascination, he briefly thought, "_This looks like something my grandfather or mother would be proud of."_ Hearing Molly's cry brought him back into reality, cautiously he joined her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder giving it a squeeze he asked, "What is it Molly?"

Molly was openly crying, seeing a child mauled like this was tearing her apart, she was a mother herself and could never imagine even a dark lord doing something like this, turning to Sirius she sobbed out, "In the corner over there." Motioning behind her, "He's crying and… mauled… by Merlin… who… could be so.. soo. Evil…"

Sirius turned to the corner and knelt down barely able to control his patience and fury. Leaning closely in an attempt to identify the boy Sirius noticed that the boy wasn't just crying he was calling out. Turning his head Sirius snapped, "Molly, be quiet, the boy is saying something.

Molly complied as best she could biting back her sobs as she stood there in what she could only describe as a literal hell. Kneeling next to Sirius she choked out, "Can you understand it?"

Sirius just held up his hand to silence her. He moved closer, his limbs passing through the mass of half crazed cat's with each movement until he was just inches away from the boy's face. Whispering softly to Molly he said, "I think the boy is Japanese, it's hard to get a good look at him with his arms and these dam cats in the way. My Japanese is virtually non-existent but I think… I think that he is calling out for his mother and father and begging for help."

Molly could feel her heart breaking as Sirius confirmed what her motherly instincts were telling her. Unable to hold it in anymore she allowed herself to collapse on the dirt floor of the pit and cradled herself as she cried.

Sirius was pushing his limits, there was no doubt in his mind that this was torture but he still had his doubts, for one to commit this type of revolting act one needed a certain quality and he had serous doubts that Ranma was capable of it, Mr. Sun maybe, but not Ranma. After a few more moments Sirius sighed, the boy would not uncover his face not that he could blame him but he wanted to see the boy, it was a hunch and he listened to his hunches, they had kept him alive and helped him escape from Azkaban. He was about to give up when he had a thought, if he restarted the memory he might be able to see the boy, because there had been a moment of a falling sensation, turning to Molly he gave her shoulder a squeeze and said, "We can leave in a moment but first I want to see something.

Molly wasn't that coherent, this child reminded her of the possibilities on what could happen to her own family should they fail to take down Voldemort. So when Sirius spoke she didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence.

Sirius exerted his will over the memory and rewound it, it was difficult to watch, and his stomach and his heart were tying themselves into knots. Finally after what felt like an eternity the lid came off of the pit, showing at least fifty half starved cats. Sirius slowed the memory down, the boy had been pushed in face first and until he got near the top Sirius wouldn't be able to get a good look at him. Sirius waited impatiently as the boy seemed determined not to reveal his face to him, finally, once the boy was practically within the grasp of a stocky man wearing a white gi and bandana over his head as if to conceal his apparent baldness, Sirius was able to get a good look at the boy's now open wide eyed face. He fell backwards in shock, the boy was Japanese he was certain but there was more and he did not want to admit it as he stared at the stalled image in shock.

Turning his head and closing his eye's Sirius willed, hoped and prayed that he was mistaken that this wasn't Ranma being tortured. His voice shaking in a mixture of rage, hate, and helplessness Sirius sharply said, "Molly, look at the boy and tell me what you see."

"No… No I can't take this anymore Sirius."

His patience wearing out he barked, "Dammit Molly, look and tell me what you see."

Molly didn't want to look, as it was she didn't know if she'd be able to sleep for weeks as it was. Her imagine nation was running rampant with the possibilities of what Sirius wanted to show her. She figured it could be almost anything from the boy being subjected to some other worse than death to seeing Ranma laughing maniacally at the boy's distress. Finally summoning enough inner strength to risk the consequences she turned her head upwards and fell back in shock, for staring down at her his face frozen in abstract horror was a Ranma appearing no more than six years old.

Molly fell back in shock cursing to herself; she knew she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. She was about to turn around and scream at Sirius when she felt an odd sensation; she blinked as she stumbled to the floor. Rising to her feet she started to run from the room paying no mind to Sirius calls.

"IT WAS RANMA WASN'T IT!"

"WASN'T IT, HE LOOKED JAPANESE BUT IT WAS HIM."

Molly just kept running down the stairs, by now the rest of the household had heard Sirius's shouts.

Molly dashed into the kitchen, only to see Remus holding Sun Lu in place by wand point. She ignored Remus's questions in favor to marching directly up to Lu, grabbing him by his shoulders she started to shake him violently and interrogate him while she cried in fury.

"DID YOU DO THAT!"

"DID YOU!"

"BY MERLIN YOU WILL ANSWER ME OR I WILL CURSE YOU INTO OBLIVION!"

"CONSIQUESES BE DAMMED!"

"DID YOU DO THAT!"

"TELL ME WHO!"

By this time Sirius had reached the kitchen tailed closely by Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

Not knowing what was going on and seeing his brother's assistant being manhandled by his best friends mother Harry asked, "Mrs. Weasley, What's going on?"

Molly ignored Harry's questions as she continued her ruthless assault upon Sun Lu.

Sirius knew that Sun Lu was not the one who had done that to Ranma, he had seen the man plus there was the fact that Ranma was around six in the memory and according to both of them Ranma and Lu had just crossed paths a few months ago. Forcing his rage into himself Sirius strode forward and grabbed Molly by the shoulders and said softly, "Molly, listen to me."

Not getting any response other than Molly continuing her ministrations to Lu Sirius repeated, "Molly, let him go. He was not the one that did it."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

"Molly you have to trust me, I saw the man who did it."

"Molly, just let him go and we can get to the bottom of this."

Remus taking a queue from Sirius nodded to Ron and Harry to signal them to grab a hold of the distraught woman.

As soon as Harry started to approach her Molly Lunged at him and started to cry hysterically again. Harry sent a pleading look at Ron but he just shrugged and gave him a sympathetic look. Not knowing what to do, Harry just held onto Mrs. Weasley as she cried hysterically and babbled something about Ranma.

Lu was busy coughing after his near brush with death; once he recovered he was going to say something but changed his mind once he received a chance to look at the majority of the room's occupants. Instead he chose to nervously take a few steps back and stand there figuring that whatever was wrong someone would eventually ask him.

Sirius was pacing back and forth in the kitchen not sure on what he was going to say or do. He knew it was Ranma, his godson, Harry's brother, James and Lily's first-born son, he felt responsible for Ranma's misfortune. His thoughts were full of maybes and if only's.

Remus was confused, the twins were still not recovered enough to offer any further explanation and Sirius looked like he wanted to kill somebody. Molly wasn't in any shape to even talk. Ron, Ginny and Hermione were just standing at the door waiting for something else to happen and Sun Lu was wide eyed and extremely nervous, looking like he was about to be executed. After a few minutes Remus noticed that while Molly was still crying she had calmed down some and Sirius had changed from pacing to standing in place and glowering. Thinking that cooler heads would prevail Remus said, "I believe an explanation is in order Mr. Sun."

Lu shifted nervously and said, "It might help me to know, what I am supposed to be explaining."

Remus stared at the man and said bluntly, "Okay, for starters why would Fred and George come down here looking like they had just been ambushed by death eaters? Why they would insist that Ranma is a dark Lord and holds memories in a Pensieve that show a small boy being tortured? How about why Molly here would storm into the room and start throttling you demanding to know who did it?"

Lu Gulped, he wished that Ranma was more open with his past it would save the young man so many problems. Rubbing his sore neck Lu replied, "I am assuming that some of you have visited my masters Pensieve?"

Receiving questionable stares and flat out glares Lu continued, "What you saw is an event of Lord Ranma's past in which he was subjected to a technique designed to create berserkers. It involves digging a pit, taking a small child no older than eight, the younger the better, capture numerous cats, starve them for a time to the point where they begin to fight each other, wrap the child up in fish paste and other foods that cats are most likely to eat, bind the child up to where he can just barely move, toss him in the pit and wait."

Multiple gasps rang through out the room; Lu swore silently he knew that Ranma did not want people to know about this. He just hoped that he would be forgiven, because it was currently necessary to explain this, otherwise his career as an advisor might be cut of rather quickly. Ignoring the interruptions in favor of getting this over with he continued, "Lord Ranma was subjected to this numerous times and eventually he snapped."

Sirius stepped forward and asked, "Snapped? How?"

Still rubbing his sore neck Lu said, "I am getting to that. Lord Ranma when he is in the presence of a cat or other feline looking creature for too long mentally retreats from his mind and surrenders to the base emotions the technique associates with the Neko Ken. In that state lord Ranma believes himself to be a cat, but somehow the technique went wrong with master Ranma, instead of staying in the technique if he finds a safe place he can sleep it off and walk away not knowing what he had done."

Glancing around the room he noticed that he was still receiving several glares that promised pain he continued, "The man who subjected Lord Ranma to this technique was the man whom lord Ranma believed to be his father." Noticing the looks of outrage surging forth he quickly added, "It was not the man's fault though, recent events have shown that whomever kidnapped Lord Ranma had placed a series of compulsions on Genma forcing him to subject Lord Ranma to all sorts of dangerous techniques without fully researching them properly like one would normally do for training. I feel that it is not necessary for you to seek this Genma out; last I heard he was still staying at Phoenix Mountain under suicide watch for his actions. His shame over what he had done to my master has nearly broken him. I humbly ask that you do not tell lord Ranma this seeing that he still has feelings for the man and would be distraught over the news."

(Those of you in forums that say this is a proper technique consider this, even dangerous techniques are researched to ensure that they are not fatal to the subject after all what good is the ultimate technique when you are dead, hence Genma never read the last page.).

Lu let his shoulders slump, he had blown his masters most private secrets, despite the fact that it had been unavoidable Lu still felt miserable for his violation.

Remus and the others that had not had the benefit of seeing the events fold out personally were experiencing a series of emotions, there was pity, there was hate for the man that had taken him away. Harry even with the hard life that he had lived and having the benefit of Ranma telling him loosely of the technique could not imagine how bad his older brother had had it. One thought though the room was agreed upon, for Ranma to have not turned out to be a dark lord was simply amazing.

Deciding to break the silence Lu went on to say, "The reason as to why Lord Ranma has these rather unpleasant memories stored in the Pensieve is so he can revisit the event and attempt to overcome his fear. Doing something I feel makes him quite admirable, Lord Ranma does not allow things to beat him he has been working hard to turn that weakness into a strength."

-----------------------

I'll probally release the next chapter in a week or so, i haven't finished retyping it.(it's on my laptop and none of the drives work right now and it doesn't connect to the internet, (it's an old laptop i use when i feel like lounging.)


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to James Axelrad for proof reading this for me. I appreciate all the reviews that I am getting and there are several ideas that I am considering at the moment. Sorry about the delay in releasing this chapter but I have been pre-occupied. Now I am wondering what type of Dumbledore I should portray. Should he be manipulative? Grandfatherly? Or a mixture of both? I also am pondering how exactly the court hearing should go. Some how I don't think that it would go too smoothly especially with Ranma being there and some one calling his brother a lair. I know I need to increase the Harry Ranma interaction but it has to be done in small increments because despite how they both might feel it is something new to the both of them.

Once again thanks for the reviews, although I don't always reply to them I always read them and consider them as I write.

------------ With Tonks and Ranma ------------------

Ranma and Tonks were now sitting in a park enjoying their extra large double chocolate malts when Tonks turned to Ranma and asked, "How are you and Harry getting along?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Pretty good, it's actually kind of nice having a younger brother. Although I wish he would train with me."

Tonks was about to respond that even if Harry has immunity from the underage magic laws it still would be a good idea to not let him practice magic outside of school but then she remembered and a look of comprehension washed over her face, curious she stated, "Oh, that's right, you are a martial artist, right."

Ranma scoffed lightly, temporarily letting her ego get the better of her she proudly stated, "I am the best of my generation."

"It must have taken a lot of hard work to get that good."

Ranma deflated slightly as she soberly said, "Yeah it did." Perking up a bit she continued, "But if it weren't for all my training I would never of known about Harry and traveled here to find him."

Tonks nodded and asked, "So what all can you do besides that whole turning invisible thing?"

Ranma leaned her head back and stared up at the sky, after a few moments she replied, "Almost anything I can imagine. I can fire blasts of ki, I can punch more times in a few seconds than what an average person can do in two minutes while retaining proper form, I can run extremely fast, and I can jump small buildings in a single bound."

Tonks eyed Ranma speculatively, raising an eyebrow she asked astonished, "Oh really?"

Ranma shrugged her shoulders and said, "Yeah."

Tonks frowned her instincts were telling her that something was slightly amiss, leaning her head back to stare up at the sky with Ranma she asked, "So what made you decide to escape the for house the day?"

Ranma sighed as she thought, "_Should I tell her? Lu and Jackie both told me that I should try to open up more often. But can I trust her? I mean, I haven't even really told Harry that much about myself. I don't want her thinking that I'm some time of freak. But she didn't yell at me when she found out that I could change genders. Oh what the hell, it's not like I intend to stay here all year round anymore, not after finding out that Harry stays at the school with the exception of the holidays. So if she decides to not want to be around me it won't matter because once Harry goes to school I'll just go back to china, besides I think Lu mentioned that I have to train my personal guard."_

Ranma sighed, and softly replied, "There are a few techniques that I learned in the past that are not exactly healthy, one in particular is insanely dangerous to myself as well as my surroundings should I succumb to it."

Mystified Tonks asked, "What happens then?"

Pursing her lips Ranma continued, "One particular technique, the one I was working on today is called the neko ken. I don't feel like discussing how the technique is learned. However the end result leaves the subject me deathly afraid of those fricking small furry bastards, if I am around one too long and can't get away I snap. Becoming a feline in mind, I stay like that until I sleep it off, I also used to be able to be brought out of it by my former curse but now since I can control it won't work like that any more."

Tonks putting two and two together and accurately coming up with four asked, "Is that what you have stored in the pensive?"

Ranma turned her head and looked at Tonks questionably as she asked, "How do you know about that?"

Tonks shifted her position slightly and replied, "As an Auror I'm supposed to pick up on subtle hints. You seem kind of moody today like you just watched puppies being kicked repeatedly, you also seemed introverted to a degree when you left the house as if you were deep in thought, you didn't want to talk about it but you did anyway even though you failed to mention the specifics like you are trying to forget like you had been reminded of it lately. Plus your assistant alluded to there being some rather unpleasant training sessions in it, he didn't out right state it but he specifically asked about somewhere safe to store it." Noticing that Ranma was still a feeling a bit moody Tonks stood up and grabbed the younger redheads hand and said, "Come on, lets go for a walk it's to nice of a day to sit around and sulk on things that you can't change."

Ranma was about to counter that she wasn't sulking but decided to let it go feeling that a walk would feel pretty darn good.

As Tonks dragged Ranma out of the park she turned her head slightly and said, "I'm going to say one last thing about what we were talking in the park. You might want to try and learn Occlumency; it might be of some assistance to you. Unfortunately the only person I know that is rather exceptional at it is professor Dumbledore, and I have no idea when he is going to be at headquarters next."

Ranma nodded and replied, "I'll think about it, the professor and I need to talk anyway."

Grinning back at Ranma she asked, "So, this your first time to London?"

Ranma sighed wistfully and replied, "Yeah, I've been all over the place with Genma but he never brought me here, I guess I know why now."

Tonks shook her head and chided, "Now, now. There will be none of that little missy."

Ranma bristled slightly and blurted out, "Hey, I'm a guy."

Taking off at a slow run Tonks laughed sweetly and called back, "I know, I know, you're a guy that likes to buy tight revealing leather that shows off your manly feminine assets."

Ranma blinked, realizing that Tonks was playing with her she was about to respond when she noticed that Tonks was now thirty feet away at a light run. Plastering a grin on her face Ranma gave chase, careful not to catch her too quickly."

-------------- A few minutes later -----------

Tonks nearly collapsed on the sidewalk, whether it was from her impromptu game of tag throughout the London or the fact that Ranma as skilled as she was managed to trip over a loose brick and landed in a fountain, only she knew for certain. After gaining a measure of composure Tonks dragged the redhead into a nearby alley and said, "Be careful there are muggles around and you don't want me to have to run you in."

Ranma scoffed as she flared out her ki. Once she was dry she said playfully, "See, no magic used, just ki and there ain't no law against using that so there." Smirking she added, "Sides, I got immunity so you ain't got nothing on me." After sticking out her tongue she mock huffed, "So suck on that."

Tonks giggled and suddenly her lips grew to obsene proportions she slurred out, "Soonn't sssind sssif sssi ddo."

Ranma was about to retort when she heard a loud gasp coming from behind her, Turning her head she saw a young boy about eight years old staring at them from the entrance to the alley. Motioning for Tonks to move behind her she sweetly purred out, "Yeeesss, can I help you."

The boy pointed an accusatory finger at her and exclaimed, "What, what, are you."

Ranma grinned playfully and whispered something to Tonks quietly. "Tonks shook her head but Ranma was persistent and quietly said, "Come on, just do it."

Tonks sighed in frustration but decided to do it; keeping her face partially hidden by Ranma she motioned the boy to come closer, once he was within a few feet Ranma coyly asked, "You want to know a secret?"

The boy nodded dumbly.

There was a second of silence. Ranma noticing that Tonks wasn't doing her part elbowed her slightly to get the young women into motion.

Tonks keeping her face away from the boy started of with, "Well little boy…" She then turned to face the boy showing a stereotypical elongated witches nose and cackled, "We're Witches."

Several things went through Bobby Baxter's head at the moment. However two we only two were truly relevant. First, he couldn't remember if he had been playing sick today to get his grandmother to give him that little shot of whiskey if he did he vowed that he never was going to drink again because if he was hallucinating he didn't want to turn out like his uncle Wally who talked about pink elephants. Secondly, he thought that if this was indeed real and witches existed like his aunty Minerva said then what his mother said must be true and that he was about to become somebody's dinner. As he trust his hands over in front of his face he shrieked, "NO, I DON'T WANT TO BE ANYONES DINNER."

---- Seconds earlier --------

Ranma's senses went wild for a brief second, there was someone who had magical ability, and although it was not very potent it was however extremely close to her. Her eyes widened as she figured out the source. Turning quickly she scooped Tonks up in her arms and jumped to the rooftop and made a run for it.

Tonks was in shock as she was carried bridal style across the rooftops of London. Coming to her senses she started to hit Ranma on the shoulder, screaming at her to stop for a second.

Ranma deciding that they were now far enough out of the way for her to stop skidded to a halt and asked, "Hey what's up with all the screaming? Don't tell me that you're afraid of a little roof hopping, especially since you can fly on that broom of yours."

Tonks gave off an exasperated sigh as she attempted to lean to where she wasn't resting her face against Ranma's breast. Realizing with a blush that it was futile in her current position she said, "As much as I enjoy being carted around do you think you could put me down now."

Once she was settled on her feet she stated, "Now why did you scoop me off my feet and take off like that?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "Well I think that we scared that kid into doing what you call accidental magic and I didn't want to be noticed by someone because it would ruin my secret status."

Tonks was about to nod knowing that Ranma was supposed to be keeping a low profile when she realized that there was no way that anyone would confuse the busty redhead with her male counterpart. Pointing out the obvious she replied, "You do realize that you are a girl right now? Right?"

Stretching slightly Ranma absentmindedly replied, "Uhm, I kinda forgot. Being in this body as much as what I had in the past sort of made me used to it."

Tonks stared at the redhead intently for a minute and then asked, "So it doesn't feel wrong when you're like that?"

Ranma shrugged again and replied, "No, don't get me wrong I prefer to stay a guy but I have to admit this form does have its benefits. I'm a good deal faster in this body and I can scam free food when I need it."

Tonks nodded in understanding, she didn't do it all that often but there were benefits to being a metamorphmagi and scamming free eats was just icing on the metaphorical cake. Thinking that it would be best to get off of the rooftops Tonks said, "We should get going. Is there anyplace you wanted to go before we head back?"

Holding out her arms for Tonks to latch on Ranma jumped down into a near by alley. Once they were back on a main street Ranma said, "Well now that you ask, I don't suppose that there is a scroll or book that instructs people on how do that Occlumency?"

Taking the redheads hand she said, "I suppose there would be one. I guess there's only one way to find out?"

Raising an eyebrow Ranma asked as she was being pulled along, "How's that?"

"We go to a book store."

Ranma nodded it made sense, seeing a small bookstore up ahead she asked, "So are we going in there?"

Tonks shook her head and replied, "No, silly we are going to Diagon alley."

"Where?"

Incredulously Tonks asked, "Don't tell me you never heard of Diagon Alley?" Seeing that her question was answered with a clueless stare Tonks sighed and said, "No I suppose not. Diagon Alley is London's foremost business center for witches and wizards. If there is a book shop that carry's a book on Occlumency, it is there."

-------------- Meanwhile at 12 Grimewald place -----------------

Mrs. Weasley had finally calmed down but was now sitting rather listlessly at the table along with Harry, Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Remus and Sirius. Lu was still standing, he had not wanted to reveal Ranma's secrets but he was not given a choice in the matter. Still absentmindedly rubbing his sore neck he decided to break the gloomy silence, "Lord Ranma, had not wanted anyone to know as he is currently attempting to come to terms with this weakness. I implore you all to not allow this information to soil your dealings with master Ranma. He does not like being pitied for the more unfortunate events of his life nor does he feel that there was anything too harsh, done to him."

Sirius shook his head not truly wanting to believe it and said, "How could he possibly not think that what he was put through was anything less than torture?"

Lu sighed and stated, "It is how he was raised, he is just now learning that some of the things that were done to him are unacceptable in society but he knows that he can not change them but merely make the best out of his situation." With a slight bitter laugh he amended, "Actually he feels that retraining himself in the neko ken is torture. However it is a necessity as you are all aware of how common felines are in our world."

Straitening out her ruffled clothes Molly asked, "So, what do we do now that we know?"

Lu shrugged and replied, "I suggest an apology for going through his things and that you treat him no different as before."

Harry piped up, "How are we supposed to do that? This is Voldemort's doing, just one more way that he tried to destroy my family."

Lu nodded and stated, "Take one day at a time and just be friends with Ranma, he has not had many and it usually takes someone with no small amount of patience as Lord Ranma has difficulties with his bluntness. If you want to help though, you all could assist me in keeping Crookshanks away from Lord Ranma as that feline seems rather stubborn."

Looking around Molly asked, "Speaking of Ranma where is he exactly? I would of thought that he would of popped up by now."

Lu started to sweat a bit; he wondered how he was going to tell him that Ranma had wanted to take off for a bit and is out without protection. Lu knew though that Ranma didn't need protecting, he was for all extensive purposes a one-person army. However that little bit of information most likely would not be of any help considering that Ranma Taking in a deep breath Lu replied, "Lord Ranma, is out."

"WHAT."

"IS HE INSANE, HE KNOWS HE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE OUT AND ABOUT WITHOUT PROTECTION."

Lu put his hand over his face and started to rub his temple. In a tired voice he said, "Lord Ranma does not need protection. He has spent the last two years in almost constant combat with rivals seeking to either kill him or defeat him for no better reason than he is better than them in the martial arts. In addition lord Ranma has a technique that allows himself to turn invisible making it almost impossible to detect him magically."

-------------- Diagon Alley -----------

Ranma and Tonks had just entered Diagon alley via the pub's secret entrance. Ranma was busy taking in the sights as she had never been into a magical alley before. She was about to ask Tonks where the bookstore was when she heard someone yell, "DAMM YOU RANMA. BECAUSE OF YOU I'VE SEEN HELL."

Ranma blinked, that sounded sort of like Ryouga but higher pitched, knowing what was coming next Ranma swept Tonks into her arms and leapt twenty feet away to avoid a most likely impaling with an absurdly large umbrella. Setting Tonks down she strode forward ensuring that Tonks was safely behind her and stopped dead in her tracks. She had been expecting Ryouga but in front of her instead of him she was faced with a child ten to eleven years old. Blinking she asked, "Who are you?"

The child sweat dropped and replied, "Who do you think I am? I'm Ryouga you idiot."

----- Flashback --------------

Ryouga was livid, after he left Phoenix Mountain he had gotten lost. After several day's of wandering he had found himself at the base of a large tree, a small fungus at the base of the tree had caught his attention. It was an aging mushroom. As he stared down at it he thought, "_It's one of those stupid aging mushrooms. It's not like I need it anymore, Ranma said he was suspending all his engagements to find his bother… but he could come back and try to take Akane away from me."_

Grinning devilishly he manically thought, "_If he does, I'll have this little beauty waiting. And since it is the only one I'll have there will be no way for him to get his age restored and take Akane away with him. It's perfect, I'll get Akane and he'll be too weak to do anything about it while I pound him to the ground for ruining my life."_

Insert mental image of a seventeen yr old Ryouga standing over a broken and bloody eleven year old Ranma.

Everything had not gone as planned for Ryouga, he had wandered around in search for Nerima but instead of finding it he had found himself in front of a large castle late at night, after wandering around a dark forest that was filled will all kinds of weird creatures. He was starving having run to of provisions. All he had in his pack for food was a small bag of mushrooms and a small packet of ramen. Fumbling in the dark he had somehow managed to consume the aging mushroom, reverting his form to that of a child. He had howled in rage at how Ranma was once again able to escape justice. He was about to fire of a shi shi hoku dan when this elderly man in purple robes interrupted him.

(AN: Hogwarts has wards protecting it so no one can apparate anywhere on the grounds. But I would assume that the forest does not have that protection.)

"Is there something wrong young man?"

Ryouga scoffed at the English speaking man and replied in an accented voice, "Nothing you can do about it, unless you know how to magically restore my rightful age."

The mans eyes twinkled slightly as he stated, "I take it then you are not as you seem."

Turning his back to the man Ryouga began to gather his things and replied darkly, "yah, like you could do anything about it."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I have a question for you though. Do you perhaps have a difficult tie finding where you want to be?"

Ryouga's face darkened as he shot back, "It's not my fault, it's a family curse."

Unknown to Ryouga the mans eye's twinkled brighter as he said, "Perhaps, you might want to come inside and tell me of you travels. Afterwards we can discuss this so-called family curse.

Some time later a shell-shocked Ryouga was sitting on a bed. The old man as he had come to find out was named Albus Dumbledore and was the headmaster at a school for wizards and witches. What had been truly surprising to Ryouga was that he was a wizard, the headmaster had explained to him that his so-called family curse was nothing more than an advanced case of apparation and that it was a common occurrence in those it affected, though it was rare, for the individual to apparate without even knowing it and it would often lead to the aparator to miss out on the necessary schooling to be able to control it.

So it was out of wanting a measure of control over his life that he decided to stay at the school. At least while he was there he wouldn't be able to apparate. The headmaster had even given him a small wristband that would further limit his ability to apparate if he should leave the grounds.

----------- Presently ------

Ryouga was standing in a small crated cursing his smaller weaker form. To top that off the difference in speed that had been great before was now obsene when he compared himself to Ranma. This led to him once more cursing the vile being for daring to remain his age when he had been forced to become a child. Outraged at Ranma's apparent lack of respect Ryouga howled out, "DAMM YOU RANMA. GET OVER HERE AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN."

Ranma wanted to laugh at pig boys expense but knew that it would only set him off on one of his usual tirades. Attempting to be a bit more diplomatic than she usually was Ranma called out, "What did I do to you this time?"

Ryouga growled but knew that he had to plan carefully because Ranma was many levels beyond him in speed and strength due to his reverted childhood status. Playing for position he shouted, "You know what you did. Because of you not being where I was I accidentally ate an aging mushroom that I was supposed to use on you."

Ranma blinked and asked, "Just how is that my fault? Why were you going to do that anyway? When I found out who I really was I made a clean break no engagements at all so why come after me?"

Ryouga didn't know what had him more confused, but he resisted the urge to believe that it was his fault so he shouted, "IT JUST IS!" All patience and pretext of needing a plan left Ryouga as he succumbed to his righteous fury. Charging forward he called out, "I've had enough this time you will pay for all the hell you've caused me."

Ryouga's words struck a cord with Ranma as she dodged around the younger boy, she thought, "_The hell I've put him through? He's had enough? What about me? Besides his curse I didn't do anything to him but fight back and attempt to be his friend. He is always coming up with some scheme or magical item to turn my life upside down. He was going to use that mushroom on me, why should I give him any sympathy. I could be the one stuck like that. It's not like I ask for any of the crap. He's just being childish." _

Like lightning a dawn of understanding washed across Ranma. Continuing her musings while she dodged she thought, "_He's being the child that he is. This is just a temper tantrum because things didn't go his way. What can I do though? He's just a kid, it's not like I can hit him martial artist or not he's too weak like that. What can I do though? I'll just treat him like the brat he's being."_

Stopping in place Ranma reached out and captured Ryouga's fists in her hands. Annoyed she said, "If you don't stop attacking me I'll give you a spanking."

Ryouga howled in rage once more with his prepubescent voice screeched out, "Don't you dare treat me like some little kid."

Ranma shook her head sadly and said, "But Ryouga, that's exactly how you're behaving. You are being a little brat. It is time for you to start accepting the consequences of your own actions. I'm getting tired of this crap. I left Nerima and I left Akane so I could find my brother. It is not my fault that you didn't believe me, it's yours. I wasn't there, don't want to be there, and am frankly considering if I even want to be around you if you are going to act like a spoiled brat." Her anger vented Ranma released Ryouga and allowed him to sink down to his knees while he started crying.

As Ranma turned to walk away she said, "If you grow up mentally, maybe we can still be friends. I might even help you find a cure." As Ranma started to make her way over to Tonks she was approached by a women that she had not yet been formally introduced to but knew her name was Minerva McGonagall. Allowing herself to stop in front of the professor she waited until the woman said something to her.

Ranma though was not prepared for the intent stare directed at her, she shifted slightly in her place and was about to say something when she was cut off with a whisper.

"I thank you for just hurting his pride, he needed that." The woman then turned and began to walk over to the distraught not so lost boy but paused and added, "I can see both your parents in you, they would be proud."

Ranma's jaw dropped as she thought, "_Does she know? I thought the only person that knew was the Headmaster at Harry's school."_ Shooting a questioning gaze at Tonks she inquired, "Did you tell her?"

Tonks shook her head negatively as she said, "No. I wasn't aware that anyone knew." As an after thought she added, "So that was Ryouga? Some how when you told me about your greatest rival I expected… well somebody bigger."

Ranma laughed slightly and said, "The idiot is always looking for someway to destroy me. A while back he came across these aging mushrooms and I accidentally ate one. It turned me back into a kid. Apparently this time he was stupid enough to mess with them again and ate it before he could find me." Ranma shuddered at that, she did not want to grow up again especially with being able to turn into a girl, it would not be that pleasant. Turning to Tonks she asked, "So, where's this book store?"

"It's just down this way a few shops down from Ollivanders," Tonks replied while pointing in said direction.

"Isn't Ollivanders a wand shop?"

Tonks looked at the redhead, disbelief in her eyes that she didn't know about Ollivanders.

Ranma sweated nervously at the look she was receiving from Tonks, pulling on her pigtail she said, "Remember, I'm not from around here."

Tonks nodded, that small fact had slipped her mind. Embarrassed slightly Tonks said, "Yes, Ollivanders sells wands. Why did you want to know? I thought you didn't need a wand."

Ranma nodded and replied, "I don't but I was thinking that Wandless magic ain't all that common, well they way I do it. And there are something's that are easier with a wand so I figure it wouldn't hurt to get a wand just in case, you never know if I might need one for something."

Tonks nodded and said, "Well, since we're right here anyway, how bout we go take a look."

Ranma nodded and pulled Tonks into the store, once inside; an elderly man with silvery eyes and white hair greeted her. Ranma blinked, the store was lined from the floor to the ceiling with small boxes that she could only assume contained wands. Seeing that she was being greeted Ranma shrugged and said, "I'm looking for a wand or something."

Ollivander stood there silently for a minute before he snapped his fingers making a series of measuring tapes appear along Ranma's limbs. While Ranma was busy being measured Ollivander began to speak as he began to rifle through several boxes, "It's unusual for me to get one such as yourself in here. It's not that I don't mind the business mind you. It's just that you sort of caught me unaware. Hmm, no, no that won't do."

Ranma suspiciously narrowed her eyes and asked, "So what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. It's just that… Hmm… I don't suppose that you? No that be ridicules, nobody does it nowadays, but still, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask."

Ranma was getting irritated the man was just talking to himself rather than asking her a question, she was about to yell at the guy or ignoring her when he asked.

"I don't suppose you can do wandless magic?"

Ranma nodded slightly surprised that this guy could tell so easily. She was about to ask him how he knew when a box was thrust into her hands.

"Try that one, kneasel claw core, birch, extra bendy."

Ranma started to wave the wand sending dark chaotic blobs arcing with lightning across the store. Before she could blink she found herself relieved of the wand and holing a new one.

"Dragon string core, elm, stiff."

Ranma went to repeat the motion but the wand was snatched out of her hand before she could complete the motion.

"No that one won't work at all. Hmm, I know I have something here for you." The man trailed off as he wondered into the back.

Turning to Tonks Ranma asked, "Does it usually take this long to get a wand?"

Tonks shook her head and said, "Well, sometimes some people have to try out a lot of different wands. Usually though he is pretty quick about finding the right one."

Ranma sighed, beginning to regret her decision to enter the shop.

------ A few minutes later -----

Ranma looked back at Tonks, for the past ten minutes they had been standing in the front of the store while Ollivander was somewhere in the back of the shop.

Seeing that her companion was getting a little restless Tonks set her hand on the smaller girls shoulder and said, "I'm sure it will be any second now."

Ranma groaned and said, "We could have went to the bookstore while we were waiting."

Raising an eyebrow Tonks asked, "You in a hurry or something?"

Ranma shook her heads and said, "No I just don't like to go shopping and every minute I spend…"

"Ah I think I found what you need, " Ollivander said as he thrust an object into Ranma's hands. Continuing he said, "One waff, willow and mahogany shell, no core, bendy but stiff both ends capped with Centaurian steel."

Ranma looked in her hands and examined the waff; to her it looked like a normal wand except that it had a small metal tip near where her hand grasped it as well as at the tip. Raising an eyebrow she asked, "What's a waff?"

Ollivander stared back incuriously and asked, "You don't know what a waff is?" Shaking his head Ollivander continued, "No, I suppose not. A waff is a combination staff and wand; it is capable of being both. Though this is the first one that I have ever sold in my lifetime. They were quite popular back around 300 A.D. All the way up till the early 1200's."

Nodding in understanding Ranma asked, "So how does it change?"

Ollivander blinked after a few seconds he replied, "I am not entirely sure, but I bet a smart young lady like you can figure it out."

Ranma almost bristled at that, she felt if she was going to buy the thing it could at least come with some sort of directions. Then though her face brightened, she would have to do more training and that would take away from her current training of attempting to overcome the neko ken. Oh she would still study Occlumency but she was going to move her pensieve visits back seeing that she had other stuff to work on. Shrugging she handed Ollivander some money and asked, "You got any more of these? I might know a bunch of people that might want one."

Ollivander nodded and said, "Oh yes, I have a lot of them in stock and just because I hadn't sold one in a while doesn't mean that I don't know how to make them."

Ranma offered back a casual wave as she exited the store with Tonks.

------------- Some time later -----

As Ranma turned down Grimewald ave she turned to Tonks and asked, "So what are you going to tell Shacklebolt?"

Tonks shrugged and said, "I figured I'd tell him that she's not a threat and need to know only. That should get his goat a bit though."

Ranma looked questionably at Tonks and asked, "How's that?"

Shrugging on her invisibility cloak Tonks said, "He has a lot more experience than me, technically he is over me in the order."

As Ranma began to turn invisible a now male voice said, "I don't want you getting in trouble cause I got a bit antsy and needed to get some air."

"I'll be fine. Thanks though. So how are you going to get back inside without anyone noticing?"

"I figured I'd just wait for the shift change and sneak in behind one of you,"

"Okay, stay near me then because the shift change is coming up in a few minutes."

------------ A Few minutes later -----

Tonks just reached her guard position, looking around to ensure that there were o nearby muggles to overhear her she softly called out, "Kingsley, you there?"

The tall black man, currently obscured by an invisibility cloak responded by hissing out, "Shhh, not so loud."

Tonks sighed and whispered, "I wasn't being that loud, geese you git."

Shacklebolt gave off an exasperated sigh and said, "Did you manage to find out who that redhead was?"

Chirping softly Tonks replied, "Yep, she's safe. But I can't tell you any more than that. Sort of a need to know kind of thing." Pausing for a few seconds she continued, "So we up for a shift change any time soon?"

"Yeah just give it a few minutes and we should get relieved."

------ Five minutes later -------

After being relieved Tonks decided to make it easier on Ranma to get inside so after leaving her invisibility cloak with her replacement she went up to the house and knocked at the door. After a few seconds the door was swung open revealing a worried looking Molly Weasley.

Taking in the older woman's disheveled appearance Tonks asked, "Something wrong?"

Molly sighed and said, "Ranma is missing he went out for some air earlier and hasn't been back yet."

Holding the door open for a few more moments than necessary to allow Ranma entrance Tonks said, "He's right behind me."

Molly looked out the door as it was swung shut and replied, "Where? I don't see him anywhere."

Off to her side Ranma sighed as he reappeared into view. Taking a deep breath he said, "I'm right here, Mrs. Weasley."

Startled Molly jumped slightly, with her hand covering her chest she admonished, "Don't do that. How did you do that?"

Ranma shrugged and said, "It's a martial arts technique that Genma taught me."

Now over her shock Molly turned her concern to the teen and enveloped him in a hug saying, "You shouldn't take off like that we were worried sick for you. I was about to sent out Remus and Mr. Sun to go look for you. You need to tell people where you are going if you are going to take off like that. You could have been hurt or worse and Harry just got you in his life."

Withdrawing from the motherly woman Ranma shrugged and said, "I needed to get some air and didn't want to bother anybody."

Molly gave off a frustrated sigh and said, "I know."

Ranma was about to head upstairs but when he heard Molly's reply he stopped in his tracks and cautiously asked, "You know?"

Unsure of how she was going to tell him that she viewed his Pensieve she stepped forward, bursting into tears she hugged him once more and cried, "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to but Fred and George saw it and thought that you were a death eater because you were keeping a memory of a small child being tortured in it. Sirius and I had to look to make sure that you weren't because we were worried that you were just waiting to attack Harry. I'm so sorry, I didn't know. We were just worried and didn't want to risk anything happening to Harry with all that he has already been through. Please I'm sorry…" Molly started to trail off as her emotions started overwhelm her.

Ranma was confused; back in Nerima he really never received any apologies for any invasion of his privacy. More so he might have been on the receiving end of several glomps but he had never been hugged compassionately with out retribution from his more affectionate fiancées. Not knowing how to handle the situation he looked over to Tonks and gave her a pleading look as he awkwardly began to pat the distraught woman on her back.

Tonks wanted to laugh at the distraught confused look she was getting from Ranma but quickly realized that would hardly help the situation. Thinking back she realized what Mrs. Weasley was talking about and understanding dawned across her face. Deciding to rescue Ranma she asked, "Mrs. Weasley, who else knows?"

After Mrs. Weasley separated herself from Ranma, she looked down at her feet shamefully and replied, "Everyone."

Still unsure of what he should be feeling, whether it be outrage that these people invaded his privacy or relief that he wouldn't have to explain what happened because they now knew about it Ranma asked, "Who is everyone and did Lu explain it?"

With her head still lowered partially in shame Molly sighed and explained, "The twins were first to see it, then Sirius and I went and viewed it because we were worried about Harry's safety. After that we told Remus, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. Mr. Sun was reluctant to tell us what had happened but we forced it out of him."

After a few moments of silence Ranma shrugged as he made his way over to the staircase, realizing that he did need to say something he called back over his shoulder, "Don't worry about it, what's done is done."

Surprised at Ranma's reaction Molly exclaimed, "I don't mean to be ungrateful for you forgiving me dear but honestly, just like that? I mean we invaded your privacy and viewed something that was personal and potentially embarrassing."

Having taken a couple steps up the stairs Ranma sighed as he turned around and sat down. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts he responded in a tired voice, "Look, considered to a lot of things that I have been through this is nothing. I really don't like to talk about it so by you all finding out it saves it from me explaining it. Plus now you know to keep those infernal hell beasts away from me. So in all actuality the whole thing is really not so bad."

Tonks and Molly were surprised at that and both wondered what could have happened to this young man to not be upset about having his privacy invaded and almost called a death eater. Molly realizing that there were others that wanted to apologize cleared her throat and said in a soft voice, "Ranma, I realize that you want to go in your room and rest for a while but there are others waiting in the kitchen that would also like to apologize to you."

Standing up on the stairs Ranma sighed and said, "I'm just going upstairs to put away a few things that I bought today. I'll be back down in a bit." At that moment his stomach let out a low growl making its presence known, causing Ranma to grin sheepishly and say, "Besides, I'm kind of hungry."

Both Tonks and Molly blinked at that, for lack of a better response Molly said, "Of course dear, dinner will be ready shortly."

---------- Sometime later --------

While Ranma was upstairs putting his new possessions away Molly was busy making dinner. Currently Tonks, Ron and Harry were playing a came of exploding snap at the table with Remus and Sirius talking off to the side. Lu had sat down and was rubbing his temples to ease himself of his headache. Hermione and Ginny were playing a game of wizard's chess. Fred and George were just sitting there watching while drinking butter beer having not quite gotten over what they had seen in the pensieve. Over all the rooms was actually fairly quiet nobody really wanted to say anything and were just going through the motions intent on distracting themselves.

It was to the sound of the occasional exploding card and quiet murmurs that Bill and patriarch of the Weasley family arrived in the kitchen. Looking over at bill Mr. Weasley asked, "Something happen that we don't know about?"

Bill looked at his father, raising an eyebrow replied, "Beats me."

Bills response was also accompanied by a groan coming from Sun Lu, diverting the twos attention to him."

"Did something happen today, Mr. Sun?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Lu sighed not wanting to go into it again and said, "Master Ranma will be down shortly, he can explain it."

"What do I need to explain Lu?" Ranma asked from the door. Noticing all the surprised and questionable looks he was getting he chuckled nervously while pulling at his pigtail and said, "Right, the whole Neko ken thing. Mrs. Weasley told me that you all either saw it or heard about it already."

Confused Mr. Weasley and his oldest son asked, "Neko what?"

Noticing that Ranma looked a bit uncomfortable Sirius stood up and said, "Ranma you don't have to get into it if you don't want to. Lu told us about it and mentioned that you don't like to talk about it. I'm truly sorry that I invaded your privacy like that."

Ranma was about to respond but was cut off by George saying, "I'm sorry that I went in your room and looked at it."

"We thought it might contain some past memories of a former girlfriend."

"If we had known what it was we would never have invaded your privacy like that. You don't have to worry about us."

"Attempting something like that again."

"Actually we would feel better if you sought out some measure of revenge against us."

Seeing Ranma's questionable gaze Fred added, "You know, a prank or something."

"We won't even retaliate so it would be best if you made it good."

Leaning against the doorway Ranma sighed and said, "If you want, I guess I can come up with something. You know though this really isn't anything to get worked up about."

Noticing that now every one except Mr. Weasley and Bill were staring at him with gaping mouths Ranma added, "Err, I mean this really isn't much of a problem, I've had worse happen than people finding out about this. Actually it's kind of nice not having embarrassed myself first by slipping into the Neko ken first without people knowing. Just don't go making a big deal about it or try to give me your pity, it's in the past and I am doing my best to get past it." Deciding to change the subject Ranma turned his gaze over to Harry and said, "Harry, I picked up a book today on Occlumency and Legilimency. I figured that since you don't want to learn martial arts that maybe we could do this together if you want. It's supposed to be some sort of mind magic. You don't have to if you don't want to, I just figured that it would go easier learning it with someone else." Pausing for a second Ranma looked over to Hermione who looked like she wanted to learn it as well and added, "I'm sure that I can find someone else to learn it with me if you don't want to."

Blinking at the sudden shift in the conversation Harry took a moment to gather his thoughts before he responded with, "Umm, sure. Why not? I mean it will be work but I guess this will help me get to know you better."

Ranma nodded and said, "Yeah, even if we don't master it right away it'll give us an opportunity to get to know each other better. But I give us till your court date to master it. I figure it gives us a week to master it." Noticing that he was being stared at by every one in the room, he asked, "What? Is it something I said?"

Tonks took the lull in the conversation to interject, "Ranma, it takes years to master Occlumency not to mention Legilimency."

Ranma scoffed arrogantly at that and said, "Sure, I don't doubt that it takes some people years to master but Harry and I will have it down in a week. If I can learn how to throw my ki around in less than a week, I should have no problem with this and from what I've heard Harry should have no problems with all that he's been through. It just takes discipline."

Harry stared at his older brother with a mixture of awe and horror, hoping that he did not just bite off more than he could chew. Deciding that yet another change of subject was due Harry turned his head to Molly and asked, "So, Mrs. Weasley, need any help with dinner?"

Molly had been distracted so far listening to the conversation thus ignoring the meal she had been in the middle of preparing when Harry spoke to her forcing her attention back to the preparation of the meal. Noticing that dinner was almost ready she exclaimed, "Oh no Dear you just sit right there. Ron and Ginny put those games up. Fred and George you two set the table, dinner will be ready in a few minutes.

While the others were busy clearing the table and setting it for dinner Mr. Weasley turned to Ranma and said, "Professor Dumbledore will be stopping by tonight to speak to you Ranma."

Perking up at the headmasters name Harry asked, "What time?"

Turning his head sadly to Harry Mr. Weasley added, "Harry I know that professor Dumbledore means a lot to you but tonight he is coming rather late for a meeting of the order so he can discuss some things with your brother."


	7. Chapter 7

Notes: I am sorry for creating a slight panic that I was going to have Dumbledore as a total bastard. I guess I used the wrong word, I believe that Dumbledore just made a few mistakes and if you read the fifth book you would see a doesy of one that could have possibly prevented a lot of general misfortune, maybe its just the way I intepret the books, I don't know. But I will have a more human Dumbledore than what he would be portrayed in the books because he does make mistakes (he is human after all.) but I will not be bastardizing him. Ranma will not totally trust him but then again even though Ranma was friendly to Mr. Wong he really doesn't take to elders very well. Though he has taken to Sun Lu but that is necessary for later in the story.

Also I will attempt to cut down on my author notes in mid story but I am not going to promise anything because I am not a professional, I do this for my own enjoyment when I can't find anything good to read.

As to my mentioning of the cubs in this story I wrote that chapter after being informed who their new coach was going to be while at a gas station and was rather upset because the last few times the cubs were any good I was either in the army and unable to watch most games or taking summer college coarse, but as you might be able to tell there were no English or writing classes in there, (small attempt at a joke.) So I was frustrated for a few weeks because I am getting tired of the tribune and their callous attitudes to the common cub fan.

Also, as far as Ranma's power levels go, Ranma's magic is probably on par with Draco's but less than Harry's now if you add the ki levels to that he is at about or slightly above Dumbledore's level, if you add in his speed well then it's gets complicated but then again experaince counts too. However it is my opinion that Harry is supposed to defeat riddle so he is more magically powerful than Ranma even if it is just slightly so. That's why Harry is not learning martial arts.

Now I have another question to ask hopefully this one will not be as controversional as my previous one. I was going to have Ranma cast the dragon slave from slayers but I don't have an episode that it is cast in, I briefly checked Wikipedia but I did not see it. So I was wondering if anyone knew it off hand or if there was a different site to look at.

Now I know you might be thinking that that spell is overkill for Ranma but I ask you to trust me because he will only cast it once and it won't be anytime soon. Plus the situation will warrant no other recourse from his perspective. And no he doesn't use it to kill Voldemort. Now I know that I alluded to Ranma using slayers spells to a degree but that's just because in this story Ranma thinks that magic casting as three parts; intent, will and focus. And I did not want to cripple Ranma to relying on a wand plus with his ki abilities wandless magic should not have been difficult because ki is similar.

Thanks to James Axelrad for proofreading for me.

Dinner was eaten in relative silence and Ranma for his part actually ate at a rather sedated pace. It was not that he was upset about the day's happenings but the fact that he was currently going over a list of questions that he wanted to ask the headmaster. To him there were many things that seemed for lack of a better word, 'off' about Harry's entire situation. Harry had told him that he along with one of his friends had been targeted at birth by this Voldemort person and the more Ranma thought about it the more it failed to make any sense.

With an inward sigh he thought, "_Maybe I am just too used to my enemies calling out their reasons for attacking me. But what could have been so special about two babies that they had bulls eyes painted on them from birth? There has to be something more to this. It's not like either of them were old enough to steal this Voldyshorts bread or anything. After dinner I think that I'll go talk to Harry some more about it. Actually, I don't really feel all that hungry." _

With an action that would have the residents of Nerima running for their lives believing that the sky was falling, Ranma excused himself from the table and left the room without actually finishing his plate.

Lu sensing something was bothering his young charge, quickly glanced around the table to see if anyone had any idea as to why Ranma left. He didn't think it was about earlier when they found out about the neko ken but he wasn't certain. Seeing clueless stares looking at him expectantly he sighed, it seemed that no one knew why Ranma had just up and left. More so, most likely none of them knew Ranma well enough to know just how much of a rarity it was for Ranma not to leave an empty plate behind.

With an inward sigh he started to excuse himself from the table when Sirius interrupted him.

"Is there something wrong Lu?" asked Sirius cautiously, because of the events that had befallen shortly before dinner.

"No nothing really, just going to go check up on Ranma is all."

With the exception of Bill and Mr. Weasley the rest of the table looked down guiltily.

Going off of a hunch Lu said, "No, this isn't about what happened earlier, it's something different. Glancing around the table he noticed that several of the faces looked somewhat relieved. Standing up he continued, "I just am going to check to see if there is anything I can do to help him out." With that Lu excused himself from the room and immediately headed upstairs to the bedroom he shared with his young lord.

Knock knock

"Come in."

"Ranma, I was just coming up here to check on you."

Ranma snorted from the far side of the room as he was doing one-fingered pushups and said, "You know you ain't got to knock, right. It's your room too."

Sighing Lu made is way over to the bed closest to Ranma and sat down. Folding his hands on his lap he asked, "So, what is on your mind now?"

Doing one last pushup Ranma rolled to a seating position and replied, "It's kind of stupid."

Cocking an eyebrow Lu feigned disinterest and simply said, "Oh, is it?"

Rocking his head back he allowed himself to gently thud his head against the wall while he gazed up at the ceiling. After a moment of silence he said, "It just doesn't make any sense. No matter how much I try, I just don't understand." Bringing in a deep breath he exhaled it causing his bangs to flutter slightly and continued, "Sometimes I just wish I wasn't such an idiot, like pops… no make that Genma, my father, Harry's father is dead."

Lu sighed heavily, bringing his eye's to meet Ranma's he said, "Ranma you are not an idiot. Ignorant of a lot of things, but do not confuse lack of knowledge for an inability to learn. You have come a long was since we left china, both with magic and general world knowledge. Lets not forget your unparallel martial arts. You learn with an ease that I have never seen before and the tales that you tell of your life in Nerima and on the road with Genma show just how apt you are at learning something once your mind is set on it."

Exasperated Ranma attempted to interject with, "Yeah but…"

Taking a stern tone Lu said, "No buts mister, it's true and deep down you know it." Deciding to take a different approach Lu asked, "How old is Happossi?"

Blinking in confusion Ranma responded, "I don't know, three hundred or something."

"And Cologne?"

Still unsure of where the line of questioning was going Ranma muttered "About the same age as the letch."

Lu nodded and continued, "So basically it took them 300 years to get to where you are today, and as of today you can most likely defeat them, you were after all able to defeat Saffron and he is no pushover."

Still confused Ranma asked, "Yeah so what's your point?"

Folding his hands carefully he replied softly, "My point is that during your life so far you have lived for only a few things. Just a few months ago all that was important to you was the art and becoming better at it. You distrusted magic, disliked weapons, and almost incapable of expressing yourself. Granted without that specific upbringing you might never had found out about your birth family but to get as far as you have there were sacrifices that were made. You know this and I know you agree with it however, unlike Cologne or Happossi you never had much time before to actually live. As a result many things that seem simple to others seem far off and complicated to you. It is not that you are stupid; rather it is just a lack of experience. I promise you that things will get better; I know just walking into this situation must be affecting you. We knew there were problems and heard the rumors of the dark Lord returning. Coming here and you finding out that your brother is involved neck deep in the matter cannot be easy for you. I know that you had certain hopes for him and the rest of your surviving family, but you have to look on the bright side of it. You are here, with your brother. I have been told by numerous people that Harry has been the happiest that any one had yet to see him since you came into the picture."

Giving Lu a small rueful smile, Ranma nodded and said, "Yeah, but still, Harry has all these problems with this Voldeshort guy trying to kill him. This guy is worse than any of my other rivals. Did you know that he had one of Harry's friends parents tortured until they were nothing but vegetables?"

Lu nodded and replied, "Yes I was aware of that, though there might be a way to counteract it. The British were always weary of non-standard methods."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"The wizarding world here in Britain is a bit behind the rest of the world, as such they are not always open or aware of other ways in treating a problem. For examples take those two that were tortured, their minds have stopped working properly because all they can remember is the pain that was inflicted upon them. I know the Japanese as well as the Americans have been using less popular means of treating the symptoms and have been fairly successful."

Slightly puzzled Ranma asked, "Like how? If the pain causes them to snap then… wait that's it they just erase the memory of having experienced the pain and they are almost as good as new."

"Not exactly, see memory charms don't work in most cases, and they only offer temporary results. No in most cases what hey have to use is a type of potion that makes them forget but allows subtle programming to force the individual into coping with it."

"You mean like that memory shampoo stuff that got used on Akane?"

Giving off a triumphant grin Lu smirked and said, "Exactly. Very good, see you're not as dumb as you think or look."

Pretending to be outraged at the cheek of his aide Ranma cried out, "Hey."

Chuckling softly Lu said, "Sorry my lord, I just couldn't resist."

Ranma for his part was muttering something unintelligible about dignity and cheeky aides.

Taking in a small breath Lu glanced down at Ranma and said, "So now that that's out of the way, what's really bothering you?"

Ranma sighed he had hoped that Lu had forgotten when they went off target, after silently cursing his luck he said, "I'm worried, and that's not something that I'm used to being. There were times where it seemed like I was going to be locked in my cursed form but it was never like this, looking back I treated it more as a game or a temporary hardship necessary to further myself in the art. Now though, I have Harry and this guy seems set on finishing the job and I can't figure out why he keeps coming back after each failure. I mean it's not like how it is with my rivals, most of the time I'd defeat them and then they'd come back with a new trick or technique to use against me. This guy just seems bent on attempting to kill him the same way over and over again."

Looking pensieve Lu asked, "How so?"

Taking in another deep breath Ranma stated, "He used a killing curse on Harry when he was a baby. And from what Harry said he attempted to do so again not so long ago. What gets me though is that if something doesn't work once why would it work a second time. Even my rivals know that I won't usually fall for the same trick twice."

Nodding Lu said, "you are right, but and it's a big but, you are not Harry and the best you can do is just be there for him when he needs you. Protect him when it's necessary but allow him to fall otherwise he might not be prepared the next time Voldemort comes after him. You are right to be worried, this dark Lord is unlike any challenge you have faced thus far. This man will not settle for a simple kidnapping nor is he beyond lowering himself to strike out of spite. All I can really say in the end is that you be cautious and enjoy the time you have with your brother because in times of war, and make no mistake a war is brewing, happiness is hard to come by. Especially for those on the front lines.

Smiling at his friend Ranma stood up and stretched, leaning back to work some kinks out he said, "Thanks, I needed that."

Smiling back at his charge he answered, "No problem, that's what I'm here for my lord."

Standing strait Ranma quirked an eyebrow and said, "So it's back to, "My Lord" now? I know I heard you call me Ranma a few minutes ago."

Lu smirked and replied, "I do not recall doing so, perhaps my lords hearing is starting to fail him. Woe is me… "

"Get over here you and I'll give you something to woe about." Ranma called out playfully.

Looking aghast Lu backpedaled slightly and jokingly said, "Oh, woe is me, what have I done to deserve a master like you. Threatening his only aid, the heavens weep at the injustice of it all."

Laughing lightly Ranma was about to retort when he heard someone knock at the door. Deciding that his vengeance on his cheeky aid could wait he called out, "It's unlocked, come on in."

The door sung open to reveal the grinning faces of Sirius and Harry, seeing the two of them Ranma flopped down onto a bed to where he was sitting and said, "So, what's up?"

Looking around the room Sirius said, "Well I'm not sure how to bring this up considering what happened earlier but…"

Waving off his statement Ranma interjected, "There's no problem with that. It happened and now you know."

Nodding his head Sirius asked, "So you're not upset at all?'

Ranma shook his head and said, "Nope, it's better you find out than not, actually I should of just been upfront about it but I have problems talking about stuff. Is that all you wanted?"

Shaking his head Sirius said, "No, I was just worried about that. All things considered… err, um actually, Harry and I came up here for another reason entirely."

Looking over at Harry Ranma asked, "Is that so?"

Grinning sheepishly Harry said, "Actually, it was Sirius's idea, I'm just here as a tag along."

Looking back over at Sirius Ranma asked, "So what is it?"

Momentarily confused Sirius asked, "What was my idea?"

Elbowing Sirius in the ribs Harry gave of a sigh and said, "Since the twins told you that you could prank them without worrying about repercussions he thought that we'd come up here and snoop a bit to see what you were going to do."

At first Ranma wasn't sure about what they were talking about, but after a second realization dawned on his face and he let out a small, "Oh."

Looking offended Sirius exclaimed, "Oh? Oh, he says. The man has a genuine invitation to mischief and all he can come up with is Oh."

Looking over at his godfather Harry said, "Oh, give it up already. You know not everyone's idea of a good time is pranking people."

Looking further offended Sirius dramatized, "What has become of this cold cruel world, that the sons of Prongs deny their birthrights and turn into stuffy goody two shoes."

In response to his slight both Ranma and Harry shouted, "Hey I'm not stuffy."

Wiping a few conjured tears from his eyes Sirius fake sniffed, "But Ranma here wasn't going to prank the twins and Harry you barely prank anyone. Actually you wind up a victim more than anything else." Taking up a dramatic pose Sirius stood up and shouted to the heavens, "Don't worry prongs, I shall show them the errors of their ways and turn them into lean mean prankin machines through a series of practical jokes that shall be relentlessly done against them."

Ranma shuddered the pose Sirius just held along with the proclamation was reminding him of a certain crazy back in Nerima. Deciding to end the farce Ranma said, "You know, I never said I wasn't going to prank the twins, it just slipped my mind for a bit."

Immediately Ranma found himself wrapped in a manly glomp with a gushing godfather all over him. Not feeling too comfortable Ranma squirmed out of his grasp and scooted further away from him.

Not noticing Ranma's actions Sirius chirped happily, "You mean you're going to go through with it?" Shifting moods quickly Sirius added warily, "Your not just humoring an old man are you?"

Shaking his head at the mans antics Ranma said, "No, I'll do it."

Grinning cheekily Sirius said, "Good, now tell old Sirius what you got in mind."

Looking over at Harry for help and getting an impassive shrug in response Ranma groaned and said, "Well I haven't really put much thought into it but I got these packets that you mix with water and I guess I could turn them into a bird or something."

Shaking his head Sirius said, "No, no, that won't do. They already have something that makes you sprout feathers if you eat it. So if you did that it would just seem like a lame rip off of what they have. No you need something better. Is there anything else that these packets can turn them into?"

Rolling his thoughts around in his head Ranma replied, "Well… I have some that will turn them into various animals but that's too close to the bird thing. Hmm…. I guess, there is; virtuous man powder, swordsman, twin powder."

Shuddering at the thought of the feared twosome becoming a foursome Harry said, "No, not that one, they would drive Mrs. Weasley batty in less than five minutes."

Agreeing with his younger godson Sirius said, "Yeah better scrap that one and burn that packet up incase they hear about it. We don't want to doom the world."

Moving over to a bed and sitting down Harry asked, "Got anything else?"

Ranma sighed he did not want to mention the girl powder incase someone would ask him a question that would lead to him not wanting to answer. Slumping his shoulders in defeat he said, "Well I got some instant woman powder."

Harry and Sirius looked at each other for a moment, while Ranma gulped nervously wondering if he was going to be called a pervert for just having the powder. To his shock though they both turned to him and exclaimed, "That's brilliant!"

Taking over Harry added, "They used to tease Ginny all the time when she was younger about her being the only girl in the family."

Nodding Sirius chirped, "Yeah, but we need to add a bit of Pizzazz to it." Seeing the blank stares he was getting in return he said, "You know, something that say's I did it and you are going to be utterly humiliated, but not mean spirited."

Slightly surprised Ranma said, "Well, I guess we could somehow alter their clothes and have them wearing something extremely girly. I know I…"

"Master Ranma, I believe the word you were looking for was transfigure."

Sighing in relief that Lu caught his slip and it was seemly going uncontested Ranma said, "Thanks Lu. Yeah but then we need to do something so that they just simply can't cover it up and be forced to wear it until it's reversed."

Practically bouncing on the bed Sirius asked, "When you say reversed, you mean that it doesn't just ware off after a few hours?"

Nodding Ranma replied, "No, it works with cold water. You mix the powder with cold water and dump it on someone then they are stuck like that until they find hot water to reverse it, though the powder usually has enough magic in it to last for a few reversals and you can use some water proof soap to make them stuck in the form longer but I only have a small amount with me and it probably wouldn't last more than a day."

Unsure of his own input Harry said, "Well, we could always have Sirius charm all the facets in the house to put out water that's not quite warm enough to reverse it. As far as clothing goes, there's this set of pajama's that Hermione bought Ginny for Christmas that the twins tease her about wearing."

Nodding Sirius clarified, "You mean that pink shorts and top she was wearing yesterday?"

With a slightly dazed expression on his face Harry nodded and in a slightly dreamy voice started to say, "Yea,,," Before catching himself and asking, "Say how do you know about those anyway?"

Defensively Sirius held up his hands and shot back, "Hey, her rooms down the hall from mine and the bathroom is next door to my room." Turning the tables back on Harry Sirius asked, "How do you know about them? Your room is up a flight from hers?"

Blushing Harry stuttered, "Hey, it's not like that. I heard Hermione describe them once, yeah."

Smirking happily at Harry's discomfort Sirius leaned back and asked Ranma, "Think he's telling the truth or should we grill him for details."

Ranma shrugged he didn't see what the big deal was, after all, Harry probably knew because that Dirty looky bloodhound guy Dung or something probably stole them and Harry must of caught him. It wasn't like that type of situation hadn't happened to him before."

His jaw dropping at Ranma's non-committal response Sirius said, "You can't be Serous, we can't let him get away with this that easily."

Ranma looked over at the teen stuck in a mans body and deadpanned, "Your right I can't be. You are Sirius and I'm Ranma."

Harry groaned from his position and asked, "Don't you think that you are a little too old to be grilling me about what I've seen Ginny wear or not… err I mean, Hey Ranma, So you went out for a walk and spent some time with Tonks ehh?"

While Sirius was laughing at Harry, Ranma sent a glance over to Lu to see if he knew what Tonks had told the others? Seeing Lu shake his head Ranma nervously asked, "Err, what do you mean? Just went for a walk and into Diagon alley for a few books. Nothing else happened."

Harry noticing that Ranma seemed a bit anxious Harry grinned and said, "Nothing Else happened? You sure about that?"

Lu looking over at Ranma from his position at his desk called out, "Lord Ranma, do you think that perhaps you could summon Hinote so I can send word to the council for some of that shampoo we discussed earlier?"

Grateful for the distraction Ranma shouted, "HINOTE!"

Holding his ears a few feet away from Ranma Sirius exclaimed, "You could have warned me about that, and who's Hinote?"

By this time Hinote had returned and was teeseily pecking at Ranma who in turn was poking it with his finger to the same rhythm that he was being pecked.

Harry seeing his brother distracted grinned and answered, "I thought I told you. Anyway, Hinote is Ranma's Phoenix." Noticing that the bird in question was now sitting on Ranma's head while he was pecking him Harry shrugged and said, "Though, it doesn't act at all like Dumbledore's"

Once Ranma was able to hand off Hinote to Lu he ushered Sirius and Lu out of the room turned to Harry and said, "Harry, are you ready to look over that Occlumency book with me now, I figure we could both go through it before I go down to meet Dumbledore."

Harry nodded warily not really looking forward to doing the training but also wanting to do something with his brother. "Before we get started though I was wondering something if I could ask you something?"

Ranma shrugged as he retrieved the book and replied, "Ask away."

"Why do you think they won't let me in the order?"

Ranma paused, he didn't know either. Sitting down next to Harry he said, "I don't know. To me it doesn't make any sense, I mean this guy keeps coming after you and so far you have been in the thick of it. It would only seem natural to bring you into the fold if nothing else than for additional protection. Though I guess it could be because of your age."

Harry frowned and asked, "Why, every yea with the exception of my third year I have battled him in some way." Sounding somewhat distressed he quietly added, "Though this year some one else was hurt because of it."

Ranma had learned of the incident in the graveyard and had heard Harry's quiet remark, setting his hand on his brothers shoulder he said, "Listen Harry, I know you haven't known me too long and I don't know a whole lot about you other than the whole I got a psychotic maniac after me thing. But I know what happened in the graveyard wasn't your fault and as long as I am here I will do anything I can to help you. If that means that I have to tell your headmaster that you will be joining in the meetings than so be it. Lu says things are going to get a lot worse before they get better and I for one think that with this guy after you you need all the advantages you can get."

Harry smiled appreciably at his brother and said, "So what's this Occlumency supposed to do anyway."

Ranma managed to clear the first two chapters in the Occlumency book as well as the first chapter in the Legimancy book with Harry. They had even managed to get a bit of meditation done as well. Of course, it was meditation Ranma style and as a result let to a sore and tired Harry as Ranma's idea at learning meditation is to distract the other by shooting off small bursts of ki. Ranma had decided to do that because he wanted to push Harry so he'd have a base line of what he is capable of. Much to his delight though Harry was determined not to let Ranma's minor attacks faze him, thought it took almost the entire session.

Now though Ranma was in the drawing room waiting to be summoned into the kitchen where the meeting was taking place with Lu. Turning to the other man he asked, "So did the rest of the council send word back with the shampoo, if they want to go ahead with our proposal."

Nodding Lu replied back, "Yes they did, however the amazons were a bit weary of the idea. In the end however it passed unanimously."

Ranma was about to respond when the door opened and Remus stepped in.

"They are ready for you now."

Shrugging Ranma followed after Remus with Lu closely behind him.

Stepping into the kitchen Ranma was greeted by several familiar faces namely; Tonks, Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Moody, the batty old woman he found out to be Mrs. Figg, Mundungus, a tall bald black man he knew was Tonks partner Kingsley Shacklebolt and the woman from Diagon Alley Minerva McGonnall. As he looked about the room his gaze fell upon what he would call a stereotypical wizard, he thought, "_Long white hair… Check. Long white beard… Check. Bright robes… Check. Half moon spectacles… check."_ Facing the man he said, "You must be Albus Dumbledore, Harry has said a great many things about you."

"Mr. Potter it truly is a pleasure to meet you and your aide Sun Lu as well, I have heard a great many things about you from various sources."

Ranma resisted the urge to sweat drop thinking about what the possible sources might of said.

Noticing that Ranma had paused nervously the headmaster continued, "I assure you that they all spoke rather positively about you, with the exception of a young friend of yours."

Ranma sighed in relief knowing who he was talking about, and replied, "Well, Ryouga and I always did have our differences but that's besides the point, I believe I know most of the people here but some of them I have never seen before."

"Ah, yes forgive an old man for digressing." Pointing to a huge man with a massive brown beard he said, "This is Hagrid, keeper of the keys and Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures professor."

Ranma nodded at him and the head master continued, "I believe you have already met Minerva here."

"Yes, I remember, though I wasn't quite up to form at the time." He snickered, felicitating a giggle from Tonks and what almost looked like a smile on the stern woman's face.

His eyes twinkling at Ranma's hidden joke he pointed to an elderly lady with gray hair and an monocle and said, "This is Amelia Bones, she is the head of Magical Law enforcement."

Ranma smiled at her while Dumbledore continued while pointing out a bitter looking fellow and said, "This is Severus Snape, Potions Professor and head of Slytheryn house."

Ranma locked eyes with the man; he had heard several things about him from various sources and was willing to make his own judgment. However when his eyes met with the other man he felt a trickling sensation. At first he was unsure of what was happening, then though a description he read earlier fell to the forefront of his mind. Closing his eyes he growled out, "I suggest you stop what ever you are doing before I get angry."

The room quieted as Sirius, Remus and Tonks lunged to their feet all three instantly knowing what Ranma was talking about while the others with the exception of the headmaster looked on in confusion.

Lu immediately moved forward and thrust his hand forward magically forcing the man out of the seat and pinning him to the wall from across the room. Speaking for the first time since he entered the room he said, "Attempting to use Legilimency on My master without his permission is a grave offence, you would be wise to consider your actions next time as your punishment will be more severe."

Ranma opened his eyes and sighed, he understood that Lu was only doing his job but he disliked it when others acted in his stead, deciding to complain about it personally later Ranma said, "It's okay Lu you can release him, I'll handle it."

Knowing that Ranma was going to complain to him later Lu replied, "Yes my Lord, I am only doing my duty, there are several things that you are aware of that are considered state secrets and must be protected."

Ranma nodded while he watched the greasy looking professor straiten himself out, frowning he said, "I do not appreciate it when people attack my mind, however in the interest of getting along with each other I will let that slide though next time I will retaliate."

Lu smiled discreetly, he was proud that some of his efforts in teaching Ranma on how to act in matters of state were paying off.

Severus, once he had straitened himself out was embarrassed that he had been caught, but that embarrassment quickly turned into anger as he realized that this young man was another son of his enemy James potter and if he remembered correctly his first name is really James as well. That only served to anger him further. Wanting too goad the upstart he sneered, "Another Potter, Just what we need. Though this one comes with his own lackey."

Tension filled the room as the audience waited for Ranma's reply. Dumbledore not wanting a fight to break out began to speak when Severus cut him off, "I've heard of you, you think you are hot stuff and better than those around you, always interfering with other peoples affairs."

Ranma was taken aback by the amount of venom in the mans words, then again they were just words and he was attempting to make a good impression. Of course Anything Goes Martial arts specializes in insults to rile up your opponents. Deciding to put the figurative ball in the other mans court he said calmly, "If you have a problem with me or my aide we can take this downstairs into the training room, if not then shut up, otherwise I can take my brother and leave, leaving you to face down this Voldewarts guy yourself."

Snape really wanted to say something; if a few words could drive off both Potters then he would normally be the first to speak. However, he also knew that there was a lot going on and he needed information so he decided to swallow his pride for the moment thinking that it was far from over so he made his way back to his seat all the while sending death glares to the oldest Potter.

Ranma sighed glad that he had restrained himself; looking over at the headmaster he raised an eyebrow as if to ask a silent question.

Behind his outward calm expression and twinkling eyes Albus Dumbledore was confused. He was thinking, "_What is Severus doing? He knows just as well as I do that we need all the assistance we can get if we are going to stop Tom and if we are going to do that then we will need Harry here and not in china or Japan. I just hope that that was a bluff and he does not intend to take Harry away from us especially when we need him most. Though it is most impressive that Ranma was able to catch Severus invading his mind, I did not know that he was that skilled in the arts of the mind."_ Holding out his hand in a placating manner he said, "I apologize for my colleague's indiscretion, I assure you that this will not happen again."

Ranma nodded as the tension started to leave the room making his way to an empty seat that Tonks was convienatley saving for him he sat down and said, "Well, lets get down to business, I have some Questions that I would like answered, but first I have a proposition for you."

Albus smiled and said, "Go ahead and if it is reasonable then I will see what we can do about it."

Lu catching the signal from Ranma to proceedcleared his throat and said, "The combined Kingdoms of Jusenkyo are prepared to offer Assistance in the apprehension of the Dark Lord Voldemort otherwise known as Tom Riddle." Ignoring the few scatter gasps of hearing the names of he-who-must-not-be-named he continued, "This assistance consists of manpower, volunteers from the valley that are to serve as the warmaster's elite guard. These men are loyal and will not betray my Lord or any one he names as family. Furthermore, these men and women have the written support of the Japanese and Chinese Ministries as well as ties to several other magical governments that have past dealings with Warmaster Potter. We will also offer a one-sided exchange of medical knowledge and assistance, specifically we have a means to assist those whom have been put under the cruciatus curse to the point of insanity."

Allowing that last bit of information to sink in he paused for a second before continuing, "Of course we are prepared to offer more than that as our potion skills are known to be both unique and unknown to the rest of the world. These potions have been guarded secrets for thousands of years but we are prepared to share them should our requests be fulfilled. Are there any questions?"

Beating the headmaster to the punch Amelia Bones straitened in her chair and asked, "How many are going to be coming?"

Lu answered, "21."

"That's it? I mean according to these meetings the death eaters are growing in numbers and they have been recruiting Vampires and Werewolves among other dark creatures, how are twenty one men and women going to make a difference especially from what I hear the entire valley if filled with for lack of a better word, 'squibs'."

Lu smiled and replied, "While it was true that until recently that only Lord Saffron retained magical abilities in the valley while the rest were subjected to only being able to make potions or cast magic by the use of an artifact. The fact remains that all three kingdoms are warrior-based societies that have nurtured combat skills for around three thousand years. I would also like to add that while none of them are up to the same level as Lord Potter they all are accomplished in their own rights, especially in fighting what you call dark creatures."

Placed slightly but still wanting a bit more information Amelia asked, "I have another question, this one is abut you stating that you have the support of the international wizarding community."

Lu nodded and urged her to continue.

"What is the international community going to do to assist us?"

Lu shrugged and replied, "You know as well as I do that until your Minister of Magic officially asks for assistance their hands are tied. However, due to the fact that they believe Voldemort to have returned they will coordinate with us in striking out at Voldemort when outside of Britain. They have also agreed to share any death eater Intel they might come across as long as it does not pose a security risk tot hose involved. As such with you being the head of Magical Law enforcement we shall further coordinate with you directly."

Amelia nodded in approval and asked, "Overall seems to be too good to be true, the Intel alone would be very valuable to us." Glancing over at Snape she continued, "We would actually have up to date information on death eater activities abroad that could give us very valuable insight as to what they have planned in further detail. What is it that you ask for in return?"

Lu glanced over to Ranma signaling him to continue.

Grinning he replied, "As you have already pointed out a large number of the valley in the past have had limited ability, magically speaking." Clearing his throat he continued, "Now that the… ahem… Curse has been lifted of off the valley; there are numerous children to young adults that need a magical education. The Japanese and Chinese governments have already agreed to allow a large portion of potential students into their borders. However, it is just not possible for the entirety of the valleys youth to attend the Chinese and Japanese schools so we are requesting that for our assistance you agree to take in as many as you can as well as a combat instructor t ensure that their warrior skills do not diminish due to extended stay's abroad. Of course their tuition and school supplies will be paid for by their families.

Pausing for a second to take a breath Ranma thought to himself, "_I need to remember to thank Lu for making me practice this beforehand otherwise I would of come across as an idiot." _Continuing he said, "Also we are requesting that since we are sharing long kept secret ways of potion making that we be allowed to upkeep a separate facility where they are taught, due to the fact that these potions require no magic to make and often act up when directly exposed to magic we also require that these arts be taught only to squibs. In addition, this school shall serve as our embassy to Britain until further accommodations can be built."

Pausing briefly again to allow that to settle in Ranma continued, "Lastly, I am requesting that my personal guard be allowed to attend Hogwarts as exchange students as well but that they be granted special privileges that allow them to leave on a moments notice as they will be coordinating with both the order as well as The department of magical law enforcement. Any questions?" Ranma glanced around the room to see how well he did. He noticed that Lu was beaming proudly at him before he turned his attention to the headmaster."

Amelia sat quiet for a moment considering what to do, to her what Ranma was requesting seemed beyond the power of the people in this room to do not to mention that it also almost seemed like a coup de ta. Sure she could grant special wavers in the spirit of international security as well as the embassy but beyond that she was doubtful. Deciding to voice her concerns, "Mr. Potter, while those are reasonable demands I fail to see how those in this room can grant them. I know that the embassy and special wavers are doable but for the rest you need the permission of the Hogwarts board of governors and those seats are currently loyal to Minister Fudge and Mr. Malfoy in particular."

Reaching down into his pocket to retrieve a few note cards Ranma smiled before coming across the right one and said, "There are five seats on the Board, four of witch are hereditary. A Lucius Malfoy a suspected death eater occupies one, another is held by the Goldstein family. The third is occupied by the appointed headmaster of Hogwarts so that he can intervene on issues that have been stalemated. The last two are the hereditary seats belonging to the Potter and Black family. Someone nominated by Malfoy and put in place by Fudge currently holds the potter seat. The black seat is currently held by the Parkinson family as a dowry for their daughter ensuring that the Malfoy family retains control of both seats. However as I am of age now I am able to claim the potter family seat, I will do so until I find a suitable replacement and if necessary I will hire a solicitor to stand in my stead when I am unavailable. The black family seat is just awaiting a black from the main family line to claim it. Luckily for us, in this room is the last living member of the main line. Whom as you may or may not know has been granted immunity for his suspected past crimes by the international judicial court, also he is now covered under diplomatic immunity as Harry's guardian." Looking over at Lu Ranma asked, "I believe that that just about covers everything, so any Questions?"

Deciding to take the lead Albus Dumbledore looked pensive as he gazed across the room, he realized just how much Ranma was bringing to the table and knew that his requests were doable. Taking a moment to gage Sirius reaction he said, "It would not be official until those seats on the governors board are claimed however it is doable. However, I do have two requests one I will ask of you once the meeting has adjourned in private. The other is you attend Hogwarts as the combat instructor for the amazons for this coming school year. I would also like to request that your aide teach a small elective course to instruct those who are interested on the culture of the three kingdoms. It is my hope that with that those students that partake in the class will learn valuable lessons that will assist them in their chosen careers."

Ranma shot a glance over to Lu seeing that he agreed to thee terms he replied, "That's fine."

His eye's giving off his usual twinkle Dumbledore asked, "By the way, are the standard rules for the kiss of death and kiss of marriage going to apply?"

Ranma sweated somewhat nervously and said, "Well, err.. About that, I managed to get the council to agree to formal challenges that are supervised by myself, Lu and one of the Hogwarts staff before the kiss of death can be given. For the kiss of marriage though if the… what is it again… ah, yes. The kissee openly attacks the kisser and defeats him/her then they are given a second chance by choosing a champion of the same sex as the kisser fight in a formal battle on their behalf. At that time should the kissee be defeated no further action is to be taken by the kisser unless they are attacked again by the kissee and defeated once more." Glancing back down at the note card Ranma continued, "At that time the engagement is reinstated with no chance at a reprieve. However only those students of age or given parental consent are allowed to battle so should someone request a champion and they not be allowed to duel because they don't have the slip than the kissee automatically forfeits. Further information on the rules will be made available as soon as Lu and I have a better opportunity to go through them in further detail."

Molly Weasley whom had been silent for the entire meeting erupted, "ALBUS YOU CAN'T ALLOW THAT!" Calming down a moment she directed her gaze to Ranma and said, "Nothing personal deary/" then returning her righteous fury upon the headmaster said, "Hogwarts is a school Albus, just think about all the innocent children that can be roped into this."

Raising his hand Albus calmed the woman down and replied, "While the muggle authorities do not recognize the validity of the kiss of death or Marriage, the international wizarding treaty of 1352 does. We are lucky that they are willing to make such concessions, as it would be impossible for the students to not know what they are getting into. Besides I do believe that Mr. Potter here has personal experience in the matter and will do his best to ensure that kissee is well informed."

Molly shot a glare back at Ranma and he sweated out a reply of, "Yeah no problem." Seeing Molly's Glare intensify he amended, "You have my word Mrs. Weasley."

Molly's gaze softened and she smiled back at Ranma.

Noticing the time Albus stood up and said, "I am afraid that the hour is getting late and I still have some last minute business with Ranma here, so if you all could excuse us for a few moments."

At that time the room started to file out many order members giving Ranma a handshake and a few encouraging words as they left. Looking over at the door though Ranma noticed that Sirius was about to leave so he called out, "Sirius, you can stay there are a few things that I have to ask that concern Harry."

The room had now filed out leaving just Ranma, Lu, Sirius and Dumbledore. Once a few privacy charms had been placed Ranma started of with, "Why don't you start off Headmaster."

Albus sighed to himself he had wanted to go last to find out how best to draw Ranma into attending Hogwarts as a student. He believed that this would give him an opportunity to observe the youth better to ensure that he was not making a mistake as he had already made too many in his lifetime (!). Not allowing himself to appear conflicted he said, "I would like you to consider posing as a student, while I know that Mr. Cho spoke highly of your skills in learning he did state that there are a few things that you still need."

Sirius looked at the headmaster blankly and asked, "Just how is he able to do that, everyone will know that he is a teacher?"

Realization dawned on Ranma's face, at first he was going to flat out decline it but then he thought about all the trouble Harry usually gets in. Turning to Sirius he said, "There are a few things about me that you don't know. See, I kind of used to have this curse that gave me nothing but problems… and until recently I had no way of controlling it, but now I can use it whenever I want. Now before I um… show you, take in mind it was a curse and I did not get a choice in the matter it was sort of Genma's fault."

Sirius nodded and waited for Ranma to continue.

Sighing Ranma stood up to allow Sirius a better view and willed himself to shift forms looking at Sirius expecting the worse.

Sirius just sat there in shock for a minute before breaking out in uncontrollable laughter making Ranma feel less comfortable.

Noticing Ranma's reaction he gathered control of himself and said, "I'm sorry but that is the most useful curse I have ever seen, the additional pranking abilities alone are almost worth it, I mean if James, Remus and I would of known about that we could of gotten away with so much more." Sobering up further though he said, "Though you are a spitting image of lily with the exception of her eye's. Well that and your… ahem's are a bit bigger."

Ranma resisted the urge to twitch his eyes and attempted to relax a bit, he should of figured that Sirius would see it that way. Shifting back to his normal form he said, "I'll think about it, I'll let you know after you answer my questions."

Albus nodded sagely and replied, "Very well."

Ranma leaned back in his seat and asked bluntly, "Why was Harry sent to family that despised him?"

Albus sighed, he was not prepared to answer this question but knew that if he held out or risked Legilimency that there could be dire consequences. "At the time I thought it best for Harry's safety that he remain with his blood family because I had placed protection wards that would keep him safe there as long as he lived there with his aunt."

Looking down at a note card Ranma asked, "Why was he kept arrogant of your world until he received his letter to go to Hogwarts?"

"I thought it best for him to remain that way so he would not be influenced by the words of others growing up."

Ranma nodded and said, "I take it that that is why none of our parents friends ever visited him then."

"Yes, I kept his location a secret from everyone except Mrs. Figg whom was to keep an eye on him."

"So to keep him safe you left him ignorant and bound to those that mistreated him to bring him to a school that is supposedly the safest place for him to be however while at school he has faced Tim…"

"Tom."

"Three times."

"Regrettably there was nothing I could do at the time to prevent the happenings."

Ranma nodded but his gut was telling him that there was more, after all one man that was well known to the professor spent a year locked up in a trunk while a death eater took his place. Instead he asked, "What is the real reason that this guy is after Harry?"

Albus shifted uncomfortably, he was not prepared to answer this question and knew that any partial truth would need to be further explained. "_Well He does at least recognize Legimancy so I could tell him but then Tom might attempt to gain access of his mind through Harry and I can't allow that._" Clearing his throat he said, "I can tell you and only you and after that you must avoid Harry's eye's until he learns and masters Occlumency. And you can not tell him about your ability either."

Ranma shook his head, once again glad that he had Lu to tutor him and countered, "You will tell me as well as the others in the room now and I won't tell Harry until he learns Occlumency but I will not leave him in the dark, I will explain that I have something to tell him that has to wait and I want Harry to accept me for me so I have to tell him but I will ask him to keep it a secret."

Albus sighed they could keep at this all night until one of them tired but then he was fairly certain that any further attempts for Ranma to trust him would be in vain. In a way though he wanted to say something and was relieved to be able to do so for this one slip of judgment had resulted in two children being orphaned, one by his parents deaths and the other, well hopefully this potion would help. Sighing he said, "Before Harry was born I was looking for a new professor to teach Divination. It had been along day so I scheduled the meeting at the three broomsticks in a private room, it was during that meeting that she gave what I believe to be an accurate prophesy, unfortunately we were not alone and the person who overheard us reported what they had heard back to Tom. Since I do not have a pensieve at the moment I will just put it into layman's terms, if that is ok with you."

Ranma nodded along with Sirius and Lu.

"It went, the one with the power to defeat the dark lord approaches as the seventh month dies. That is what was overheard. The rest states that once Tom marked the child as an equal that either Harry defeats tom using a power he knows not or tom defeats Harry. Harry and Neville Longbottom were targeted because of the first part; the second part ensured the prophecy to be truly about Harry because of his scar. It is out of fear that Tom keeps coming after Harry, Once again I ask of you to wait until after Harry has learned Occlumency until you reveal this information to him and at that time I will share the my memory of the prophecy so you may hear it in full detail."

Ranma sat silent for a second considering his options, looking over to Lu he said, "Make a note for all captured death eaters to be questioned about this prophecy, use whatever means to do so." Turning his attention to the headmaster he said, "If you know who this individual is or what he looks like I want to know, so I'll make you a deal. I will withhold this information until I believe Harry to be ready at that time we will watch your memory, from the time you left Hogwarts that day until you returned. In the meantime Harry will join the Order, as it is important to keep him informed, he doesn't need to come to meeting but must be made aware of anything Tim is up to. It is either that or I Take Harry out of Hogwarts, give him the best tutors I can find and keep him isolated from the war. Of course I will still uphold to the rest of the agreement, with a few substitutions."

Dumbledore eyed the teen carefully deep down he was relieved but he could not afford to show it, such were the casualties of leadership. Rising from his seat he made his way over to the door, once he got there he turned and said one word before leaving.

"Deal."

After Dumbledore left Ranma let himself slip out of the soul of ice he was ticked to put it mildly. His parents, Harry's parents were killed because of a stupid prophecy. All the crap Harry had to endure was because of this prophecy. Turning his head to his godfather he asked, "Well?"

Sirius didn't know what to think, he had never put much faith in divination. The only reason he had taken the course was for it's easy grade. He did know one thing and that was that whomever told Voldemort about the prophecy better pray that the Aurors get them before Ranma or himself. Responding to Ranma's question he said, "There is nothing we can do for Harry at the moment but ensure that he is prepared. The sooner he is the sooner we can start to hunt down the one responsible for this."

"Lord Ranma, he is correct. It is best to put this behind us until we have access to more information. Worrying about it will only serve as a distraction." Taking a deep breath Lu continued, "I do believe that Master Harry is awaiting your return to begin preparations of your prank."

Ranma sighed taking a few calming breaths and said, "Yeah let's get going."

It had been a rough night for Ranma, he had lain awake thinking about Harry and the so-called prophecy, which he considered utter nonsense but then again it happened. He knew he could refuse to believe it as he felt that the future is what you make of it and that there is no such thing as a predetermined fate. It had led him to think back on his own life and remember all the trails he had faced to get where he was, he knew at any time he could have had a fatal accident and there were times where he almost thought he was going to die. Chuckling to himself he thought, "_Of course most of those times I was staring down Akane's cooking. I wonder how she is doing now? Maybe I'll write the Tendo's a letter."_

Looking at the clock he realized that Lu had let him sleep in and that it was almost time for breakfast as well as to see the results of the prank. Shrugging on some clean clothes he made his way downstairs.

Once downstairs Ranma headed directly to the kitchen swinging the door open he saw Mrs. Weasley at the stove bus making breakfast and Lu sitting at the table reading a rather old looking book of massive proportions. After muttering a good morning to Molly and grabbing himself a bit of tea he sat down at the table, turned to Lu and asked, "What you reading there?"

Lu shrugged in his seat and just flipped the book to where Ranma cold read the cover.

Gulping slightly he read out loud the title, "To Serve Man."

Lu nodded and replied, "I am just reminiscing, and it is given to all house elves once they are capable of reading."

Not really wanting to know the answer Ranma asked, "What's it about?"

Lu shrugged non-committal and stated, "It's a cookbook."

Ranma inched a bit away from Lu slowly.

Noticing his master back away Lu almost chuckled before he replied, "It lists every recipe that is known to mankind." Of course he left out the fact that several dishes in the book also include man as the literal meat, but he figured that that would be counter productive.

By this time the kitchen had start filling up and soon it was just awaiting the arrival of the twins and Ron. Smirking Sirius said, "Harry why don't you go upstairs and wake Fred and George."

Barely able to hide a grin he winked at Ranma, feigned reluctance and replied, "Okay… I'll go get them."

A few moments later every one in the kitchen heard two loud shrieks followed by cursing. Moments later Harry walked in Laughing.

Molly worried about her two sons asked, "Harry, is there something wrong with the twins?"

Attempting to regain his composure he cracked out, "Define wrong."

Molly was about to scold Harry for his cheek when the room was filled with the sound of two people apparating. Her first reaction upon glancing at the arrivals was to exclaim, "Geneva Molly Weasley, What have you done to your hair, further more what have I told you about wearing that when when there are others around. You don't want to be thought of as some type of scarlet woman do you?"

By this time Ginny was attempting to gain her mothers attention knowing how difficult it is to cut in on one of her rants. Finally she shouted, "Mum, I'm over here."

Molly glanced behind her and indeed her daughter was at the table confused she was about to ask someone to explain to her when Sirius stood up and motioned to the two redheads, in between guffaws he said, "Molly I'd like to introduce you to your two new daughters Freda and Georgette."

Molly turned back to the twins and stared at them before going off and yelling, "Fred AND GEORGE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELVES THIS TIME. HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NO MAGIC IN THE HOUSE? ANOTHER THING IF I WON'T LET GINNY GET AWAY WITH WEARING THAT WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I'D LET YOU TWO EITHER. YOU MIGHT NOT OF ALLWAYS BEEN MY DAUGHTERS BUT BY MERLINS BEARD YOU KNOW THAT I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY DAUGHTER OF MINE TO GO GALLEVANTING AROUND LIKE SONE KIND OF SCARLETTE WOMAN. I DEMAND THAT YOU GO UPSTAIRS NOW AND CHANGE INTO SOMETHING MORE LADYLIKE RIGHT NOW MISSEE'S."

The two neo girls wearing tight pink shorts and matching halter tops that left nothing to the imagination just stood there dumbfounded for a minute before they replied, "We tried…"

"We can't…"

"Every piece of clothing we touch…"

"Turns into either a top…"

"Or bottom…"

"You don't honestly believe that…"

"We of all…"

"Your children…."

"Would do such a thing intentionally…"

"Okay, well maybe Ron."

Molly sighed rubbing her temples and said, "What happened then if you didn't do this?"

"We believe ourselves…"

"To be the most unfortunate victims of a prank…"

"It's rather brilliant really…"

"Though it looks to be confusing Harry…"

"Yes sister dear, it seems that he is rather torn…"

"Between gawking at us or glancing at…"

"Ginny."

Molly turned her attention to the table frowning when she noticed that almost everyone at the table was fighting to hold in their laughter. Glancing between Harry, Ginny and the twins she noticed that Ginny had a slight frown. Thinking to herself, "_I'm her mother, I know what's wrong and I'll fix it."_ Squeezing her daughters shoulder warmly she said, "Don't worry Ginny dear, one day you will be as developed as your brothers."

1---- He is a leader and therefore makes mistakes, all he can every really do is follow what he believes in. However that doesn't mean that what he believes in is right.

So hopefully I don't get chewed out too much for my portrayal of Dumbledore,


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: I decided to have a small time skip in this chapter, so I can move along with the story. I'd like to thank those who are leaving reviews for this story as well as an extra thanks to those whom gave me the exact words to the Dragon Slave.

Thanks to James Axelrad for his help

I apologize for the wait in this chapter, I will try to put the next one out sooner.

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After the prank on the twins, the rest of the days until Harry's hearing flew by. For the most part nothing of interest happened. Sure Ginny had been both furious and embarrassed at her mother because of what Molly had said about the twins when they were temporarily turned into girls. Speaking of the twins, after spending a day as girls they sought out Ranma to plead with him to get samples of temporary curse packets, not wanting to know what they were up to Ranma complied after ensuring he disposed of the twin packet.

Ranma had also taken Harry aside and explained to him the importance of learning Occlumency, and to Ranma's satisfaction Harry agreed to train his hardest because he wanted to know what Dumbledore holding back. Unfortunately, the news that Dumbledore was holding back information had caused Harry's previously unwavering trust to diminish slightly because of Dumbledore's holding out.

Learning Occlumency and Legilimency turned out a bit more difficult than Ranma imagined. It was not that the concept was difficult or even beyond Ranma and Harry's skills. No it is that it was a bit more involved than what Ranma originally expected. Of course Occlumency turned out to be a bit easier as meditation played a large part in the initial steps before one could begin to compartmentalize their mind.

Also during the wait for Harry's hearing, the Longbottoms, Frank and Alice had begun the long road of recovery. Originally the two former living vegetables along with Neville and his Grandmother were to move into 12 Grimmauld place. That plan had been squashed though as room was starting to become scarce in the already crowded headquarters. So Ranma using his connections managed to have them hidden away in china until there was room at Grimmauld place.

There had been also a few incidents with Crookshanks the cat as Hermione was reluctant in keeping the cat locked up in her room. Ranma had been lucky though, in those occasions were Crookshanks was on the loose Ranma was able to apparate away before his fear started to show. Plus he had the benefit of the majority of the household attempting to keep the blasted fur ball away from him. Though Ranma was getting rather suspicious of Kreacher, as the old house elf seemed to be nearby whenever Ranma ran into Crookshanks.

Ranma and Harry had also managed to start bonding on a more brotherly level than before. They had moved out of the slightly uncomfortable to be around each other phase to the, "I'm going to tease you or embarrass you" Stage. Ranma and Harry both welcomed this, as they both had grown up alone for so long that it was refreshing to actually have a living blood relative and not just another friend.

Though Ranma was also glad that he had made friends with Fred and George, he even got along well with the rest of Harry's friends that were staying at the brownstone. There was also Ranma's friendship with Tonks, He wasn't quite sure on were to place her. Tonks flirted with him a lot, but acted completely different than his former fiancées. Ranma knew that she liked him but didn't push anything because he enjoyed her friendship, plus he was marginally worried that she might turn on him and start acting like his former fiancées.

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The Day of Harry's hearing

Ranma was in his room, having decided to forgo training this morning so he could wash up and be dressed in time to leave with Harry. Originally he was going to shadow Harry with Tonks just incase some Death eater decided to take a pot shot at Harry, but he had decided against it as it would be easier for him to respond to the threat directly if he was already with Harry instead of lagging behind a bit.

Currently though Ranma was disputing his wardrobe with Lu, it wasn't so much the clothes that Ranma had a problem with. No, in all actuality they were fairly nice, the pants were his usual black with the exception of a Chinese Fire Ball Dragon embroidered along the right leg, the shirt was a light blue Chinese style shirt with long sleeves. Ranma's problem stemmed from the fact that Lu was telling him that he had to wear the silver cod piece, matching breast plate, and black cloak with a blue liner.

"Oh come on Lu, it's not like some one is going to know if I'm wearing the full uniform or not." Ranma whined.

"Master Ranma, you have a duty to represent the valley and this is the standard ceremonial wardrobe." Lu replied sternly.

Ranma gave an exasperated sigh, he had been arguing for the past twenty minutes because while the breastplate was ok, the codpiece and cloak were way over the top and he felt like an overdressed peacock with them on. Attempting one last argument against his stalwart aide he pleaded, "Please, I'll look like some self deluded pompous ass, besides the cod piece is uncomfortable."

Lu rubbed his temples, no matter how much he liked Ranma, the young man still got on his nerves every so often because of his stubbornness. Going for plan 'B' Lu sighed and said, "Master Ranma, if you don't want to wear that I do have another uniform you can wear."

Ignoring the sense of foreboding Ranma chirped out, "Okay, where is it? It can't be worse than this."

Hiding his smirk Lu went over to the closet and pullet out a silver lined blue Cheongsam, the hem falling to what would be Ranma's upper mid thigh, with twin slits on the side for added mobility as well as a low neck line meant to reveal a large portion of cleavage. Holding it out for Ranma to see it Lu said, "Lord Ranma, you will have to shift forms but I do believe you will look rather fetching in this."

Ranma blanched, he knew when he was defeated, and it was not that he was not willing to wear the revealing outfit, he had worn worse, but more of the fact that he still wanted his former curse to remain a secret. Muttering darkly to himself Ranma finished getting dressed.

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In the kitchen, Remus, Tonks, the twins, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius were all sitting down for breakfast waiting for Ranma to make his way downstairs.

Looking at his watch Mr. Weasley suggested, "Harry, why don't you go upstairs and see what is keeping Ranma and Mr. Sun."

Harry shrugged and started to rise out of his seat when the door opened and Ranma strode in with Lu right behind him. Noticing what Ranma was wearing Harry tried to hide his amusement. Attempting to sound casual he asked, "Uhm, Ranma. What are you wearing?"

Ranma grumbled something unintelligible before saying, "It's the formal uniform of my station."

"Well, that cod-piece certainly brings out your eyes." Tonks added cheekily.

"Ah, so that's what that is then, I thought Ranma forgot that sports straps go inside the pants." Ron said while reaching for a pastry.

Making his way to his seat beside Tonks Ranma noticed that Harry was wearing a loose worn set of jeans and an overly large ratty t-shirt. Hoping to not have to wear what he was wearing Ranma asked, "Hey Lu, Why do I have to wear this when it's Harry's hearing and he's dressed normally?"

Defending his clothes Harry interjected, "I don't really have anything nicer until school starts and I get to go shopping."

Lu looked Harry over and frowned, while Harry had no official uniform like Ranma, it would not do for him to look like a street urchin to his hearing. Taking in a deep breath he said, "Master Harry, after breakfast if you would come with me to Lord Ranma's room I am sure that I can find something a bit more decent for you to wear."

Glancing at his watch Mr. Weasley said, "You best make it quick we will be leaving in ten minutes."

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Ten minutes Later Harry walked down the stairs, dressed in black silk pants and a white long sleeved Chinese shirt. The others, Ranma, Mr. Weasley and Lu were already waiting for him by the door. Giving off a small wave he said, "Thanks Ranma for letting me borrow some clothes."

Ranma smirked and replied, "No problem, if I have to be dressed up, then I might as well make sure you suffer with me. After all what are Big brothers for."

"Speaking of being dressed up, what happened to your uniform?" Asked an unaware Harry, who noticed that Ranma seemed to be wearing normal looking clothes?

"I'm hiding them under an illusion, Lu showed me how."

Looking at his watch Mr. Weasley said, "We need to get going if we are going to be on schedule."

Wondering how they were going to get there Harry asked, "Are we taking the Night bus?"

Mr. Weasley shook his head negatively and replied, "No, no, I decided to keep up appearances that you are not using magic at all. So I decided that we would be taking the underground train."

Accepting the fact that they were going by means of the subway Harry said, "Well, I'm ready."

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Several minutes later the group had made there way to the station. Looking around Mr. Weasley noticed that everyone else seemed to be going through a barricade after slipping a small coin into the contraption. Puzzled he asked, "Uhm, Harry or Ranma, I don't suppose you know what were supposed to do here?"

Harry grinned and said, "Just give me your money Mr. Weasley and I'll go get us some tokens." Taking the money from Mr. Weasley Harry made his way over to a window and purchased the necessary tokens.

Ranma was bored; he didn't know what was taking Harry so long, as far as he knew these turnstiles were fairly easy to use. It's just that the British seemed to have a different way to use them. Seeing Harry making his way back towards the group Ranma gave into his impatience and said, "Come on, I'll show you how to use them." Walking over to the turn styles Ranma added, "Pay, attention." Dusting his hands off he took another step forward and proceeded to jump over the turn style. Turning around he continued, "See, it's easy. All you have to do is hop over them."

Lu sweat dropped, after picking himself off of the concrete floor of the station Lu looked over to his other companions and noticed something…. Apparently the British do not sweat drop. Dusting himself off Lu said, "Lord Ranma, I do not think that that is the correct way to use a turn style."

Jumping back across Ranma asked, "Huh, what do you mean? That's how me and pops… err, I mean Genma used to do it."

Taking action Harry said, "It's rather simple, you put this…" Holding up a token, "Into the slot there and just walk through turning the bars as you walk."

Realization dawning to Ranma he said, "Oh, so that's how you do it. No wonder the police would always chase us afterwards."

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As Mr. Weasley went over the fascinating things that muggles came up with to Harry, Lu was going over last minute details with Ranma on how he should act.

"So, basically, I should be a stuck up pompous ass like Kuno?"

"From what you informed me about your previous associates, Lord Ranma, then yes you should. However, there is a difference between insanity and pompous. Try to remember that our goal is to intimidate while not coming across as some half-brained idiot."

Ranma sighed, He was nervous about the whole hearing. It symbolized a turning point in his life, that while he accepted and welcomed having Harry as his brother, he was worried that his enemies would try to get to him through Harry or even worse manipulate Harry to get to him. Feeling the car starting to slow down Ranma asked, "Is this our stop?"

Lu shrugged, he didn't know. Looking over at Mr. Weasley he noticed that the older man had gotten to his feet and was making his way over to them with Harry trailing close behind him.

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Once out on the street Ranma turned to Harry and Arthur and said, "We're going to follow you until you get to the entrance then Lu and I are going to go to the official diplomatic entrance so I can be registered or something like that."

"Lord Ranma, if you are to be an official representative, you must inform the ministry that you are here on behalf of your government." Lu chided softly, so as to not let his words be overheard by the surrounding Muggles.

Harry just waved their words off, he felt rather indestructible. Whether it was from simply having a family member for once whom did not look upon him with scorn or distaste or whether it was from the knowledge that accrediting to Lu, there was nothing that the British Ministry could do to him short of exiling him o china and everyone knew that there was no way that that was going to happen, despite how much dirt the Daily Prophet came up with to tarnish his reputation.

Harry chuckled at that thought; the Daily prophet had been running a smear campaign against him and Dumbledore for the entirety of summer so far. What was funny though was the fact that Ranma had Lu purchase the majority of shares in the paper to where Ranma now had controlling interest in it. It was only a matter of time before Ranma decided to exert his control over it to end the smear campaign.

Giving his brother another nod and a wave Harry followed Mr. Weasley to a rather beat up looking red phone booth, leaving Ranma and Lu to their own business.

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Lu waited until Harry and Arthur stepped inside the phone booth and disappeared before resting his hand on Ranma's shoulder and saying, "Just allow yourself to go with me, I'm going to apparate us into the department of international Magical Cooperation, and they are expecting us. We will check in there, so if you brought your waff you'll have to have it checked out there."

Ranma shook his head negatively and replied, "Naw, I left it back at headquarters. Besides, I still haven't figured out how transforms, all I know is that I can push my ki and magic into it and it seems to work but it still won't change into a different form."

"You'll figure it out sooner or later, Lord Ranma. I suggest you drop the Illusion so when we apparate you will all ready be in your official uniform of office."

Ranma sighed and replied, "Okay, but I still think that I look like an over dressed peacock in this getup…" After dropping the illusion Ranma muttered, "Let's get going, we don't want to keep Harry and Mr. Weasley waiting do we?"

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With a loud pop Lu and Ranma apparated into the ministry, and arrived in a large marble tiled room whose only furnishings were a large desk and a plush chair, occupied by a rather bored looking scraggly wizard.

Following Lu's lead, Ranma made his way up to the desk and waited until Lu did whatever he was going to do.

"State your name, title and purpose." The guard drawled out in a bored tone.

"Lord Ranma Potter, current warmaster and ambassador of the three kingdoms of Jusendryo Valley and I am his chief aide, Sun Lu. I believe that we are expected."

Ranma noticed that when Lu announced his name as potter the practically listless guards eyes perked up a bit and settled on Ranma's forehead before looking away disappointed.

Without looking up from his post again the guard stated, "You have to check your wands here, carrying a unregistered wand within the ministry is direct violation of international Wizardry laws."

"We are not carrying any wands."

The guard looked lightly shocked at that before he recomposed himself and said, "Very well, Minister of International Cooperation Burnside will see you now, his office is three doors on the left, thank you have a nice day."

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Ranma followed Lu down to the door in question and waited while Lu knocked on the door. Hearing a muffled voice call out from inside to come in, Ranma and Lu entered.

Upon entering the room, Ranma noticed that it seemed to be lavishly furnished, with what he was assuming were magical doodads adorning the room seemly from many different cultures. Turning his gaze to an oversized desk Ranma noted the individual behind it. The man was very short, even sitting down, had balding hair with the exception of what looked to be two pork chops starting at his ears and running down the sides of his face until they were connected to his mustache, a pug like face, really bad teeth and was dressed in what Ranma thought was an ugly purple dress.

Lu taking initiative said, "Minister Burnside, may I present my Lord, Warmaster of the three kingdoms of Jusendryo Valley Ranma Potter."

In a silky sweet voice, the man known as Burnside said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Warmaster Potter. I have heard many things about you from your peers, though I expected someone a bit older. I am confused though; I have been wondering why your aide swore me to secrecy about your arrival in this country some time ago. Normally I wouldn't have done this but your aide was quite persuasive on the matter."

Ranma shrugged, he didn't feel like explaining anything to this man and he was in a slight hurry to meet up with Harry so he stated, "I had a few personal matters to take care of before my presence was widely known and having my presence widely known would have made things a bit more difficult."

Burnside thinking back on what the Daily prophet had been printing nodded in acknowledgement before a slightly panicked look ran over his face and he blurted out, "I almost forgot, your brother Harry's hearing has been moved up and is now being held down in the old Wizimigot chambers Room Ten. If you hurry you might make it in time." Getting up from his seat the man added, "If you would follow me, I'll take you there."

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Harry walked into the eerily familiar room feeling his previous confidence go on vacation. So far nothing was going to plan, they had arrived in Mr. Weasley's office only to find out a few minutes later that the time and location for his hearing had been moved. Then they had rushed down to where it was only to wind up being late and to make things worse there was no sign of Ranma or Lu anywhere.

Gulping down his nervousness as he walked down the isle to take his place on a chair that had chains attached to it seemly acting on their own accord. Harry was brought back to the present as he noticed a voice belonging to Cornelius Fudge call out accursedly, "You're late."

Scrounging up his courage Harry decided that he was not going to take that simple statement laying down. "Of course I'm late, things like that happen when some one fails to send me proper notice."

"This is not the fault of Wizimigot, proper notice was sent out this morning. In the future you would be wise to consider your words before blaming others for your own tardiness."

"Or what?"

The loud booming voice that Harry knew to belong to his brother had the effect of silencing the low murmurs that had been transversed throughout the large courtroom.

Harry was barely able to hold his face in a neutral position as a smirk was definitely trying to form as he heard Minister Fudge's outrageous cry of, "Guards, Mister this is a sealed proceeding you have no right to be here, furthermore you are interrupting very important proceedings of Wizimigot and will be dealt with rather harshly for this offence."

Harry looked on in amusement as a short bald pug-faced man with bad teeth made his way up to where he was standing before minister Fudge. Hearing the small man clear his throat Harry listened as the man said, "Minister Fudge, I present you with Lord Ranma Potter, Warmaster of the three kingdoms of Jusendryo Valley, formerly known as James Alexander Potter. He is here on the behalf of his younger brother Lord Harry Potter."

There was no pin drop, no crickets chirping to break the silence that had reigned in the full attention of the courtrooms occupants.

During this time Ranma had taken the opportunity to walk forward and stand next to Harry with Lu standing behind and between the two of them.

Looking over at his brother Harry gave off a wry grin that seemed to match Ranma's smirk.

Turning his gaze forward Ranma noticed the man he knew to be the minister of magic, from photo's, sitting in the middle of the first row, like all the others he was wearing plum colored robes with a W on the breast. On fudge's left was Madame Bones, who seemed to be watching the scene impassively. But Ranma knew better, Madame Bones had been briefed somewhat on what was going to happen and was probably just sitting there enjoying the show. On Fudge's right the shadows of the ominous courtroom obscured the person, whom Ranma believed to be a woman due to her posture.

"That's impossible, James Potter died years ago." Shouted indigent Fudge.

Ranma stepping forward said evenly, "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated…" At that he stifled a giggle, he had always wanted to say that, before continuing with, "I assure you that I am James Potter… Well, I go by Ranma Potter but if it's proof you want then proof you get." That said Ranma thrust his hand forward, showing the fact that he was wearing a rather large ring with a P engraved into it.

"As you can see, I am wearing the Potter family signet ring and only those of Potter Blood can wear it."

Turning his attention to Minister Burnside Fudge scowled and dismissed him before turning his attention back to the teen that was supposedly not dead. Motioning with his hand he called out, "Weatherby, check the ring."

Ranma watched as a redhead that looked like a Weasley (1) rose out of his seat with a piece of parchment in his hands and approached him. Raising his eyebrow skeptically, not knowing how they were going to validate his claim. He had assumed that they would just take his word for it. The young man stepped right in front of Ranma and held out the parchment with a scowl on his face. Ranma was torn; he didn't know what to do and did not want to seem like an idiot so he did the only thing he could think of.

"Yes? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to do what you were told to do?" Ranma said as pompously as he could manage with keeping a strait face.

That had the effect of causing the young man some discomfort and nervousness as he stammered out, "Yes sir, if you would take your ring and place it down on the parchment."

Ranma shrugged and did as he was suggested, he was mildly surprised when black ink began to form on the parchment forming into words, and it read:

JAMES ALEXANDER POTTER JR. ALSO KNOW AS RANMA SAOTOME AND RANMA POTTER BORN JULY FIRST 1979 TO PARENTS LILY EVANS-POTTER AND JAMES ALEXANDER POTTER SR.

Deciding that the ring had served it's purpose Ranma brought his hand back and settled both his arms across his chest in an intimidating fashion. He followed Weatherby's movements as the young man hurriedly walked over to stand in front of Minister Fudge to hand him the parchment. Once Fudge had the parchment and Weatherby had settled back into his seat Ranma snapped, "So, does that settle it or are you bent on questioning my honor by asking for some other means of identification."

"No… Err, Mr. Potter…"

"That's either Warmaster Potter or Lord Potter to you." Ranma added pompously.

Fudge gulped nervously in his seat before composing himself and saying, "Lord Potter, I assume that you are aware of the facts, upon why your brother was summoned today?"

Ranma waved his hand dismissively and casually said, "Yes, yes, according to some idiot Harry here used magic in front of a muggle." Pausing for a second Ranma added, "Well, lets get this farce over with, I am a very busy man."

Fudge bristled slightly in his seat before composing himself; he was not going to let this upstart get the best of him. "Lord Potter, I suggest you take these allegations seriously as your own brothers future is in danger here."

Ranma chuckled; sometimes it was nice to know what cards everyone was playing with. Realizing that he was being stared at Ranma shrugged and said, "Very well, perhaps you should get on with it and stop posturing."

Frowning at the lack of respect Fudge stated, "Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

'Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley -'

'Note that there is no witness for the defense."

At that Ranma let out a cough to where fudge amended, "Lord Ranma Potter stands as a witness for the defense." And continued, "The Charges are as follows: "

"That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic with a similar charge already on record, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

'You are Harry James Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging,

Surrey?' Fudge said, glaring at Harry over the top of his parchment.

'Sort of, my residence is no longer number four Privet Drive." Harry said.

Shaking his head negatively Fudge continued, "That doesn't matter… What does matter is that you received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?"

Knowing that Ranma had things under control Harry opted for a simple answer and just replied, "Yes sir, I did."

Nodding at the Potter boy's acceptance he continued, "On the night in question you did perform a fully corporal Patronus charm, did you not?"

"Yes sir, I did." Harry stated proudly.

That small statement had the effect of breaking the silence of the courtroom as people began conversing with others over the fact that he was able to do so at such a young age.

Ignoring the mutterings of others Fudge continued, "And you are also aware that at that time you were within close proximity to a muggle, were you not?"

"I was Sir."

Hiding his grin at the fact that even with some slight obstacles the trail was going as planned Fudge stated, "Thank you, that will be all. Considering that you have not only not denied your actions but have confirmed the allegations, this panel will be taking a short recess to deliberate before returning with our verdict."

Just as he was about to rise out of his seat when Ranma stepped forward and said, "Not so fast, I believe that Harry here is to be given a chance to defend himself."

Fudge settled back in his seat and waved dismissively before saying, "Yes, he does. However he has already confessed to the charges and any defense is a moot point… But if you should have some worthwhile evidence this panel will consider the information and perhaps we can be a bit lenient for the sake of intercontinental relationships."

Staring at the man Ranma started, "there are several factors that the court is unaware of at the moment."

"Yes, yes, get on with it." Fudge urged impatiently.

Ranma sighed, personally he'd prefer to smack the arrogant ass around a bit but at the moment it was not in the plan. Making a mental note to himself to tell Lu to add the possibility of physical violence in all future plans Ranma said, "While it is true, that Harry did perform Magic it should be noted that the muggle in question was at the time unconscious as well as our cousin…"

"And you are aware of this how? According to the tracking charms in the area there were only two people in that alley and you sir were not one of them." Said the woman obscured by the shadows as she leaned forward letting Ranma know that she was one ugly woman who resembled a toad more so than a human."

"For starters, I was there. As to why your tracking charms didn't detect me, well that's because I have abilities that allow me to move undetected." Ranma bluffed, the truth is he has no idea on why their tracking charm failed to pick up on his presence, but he knew that he could avoid magical detection if he wanted.

Umbridge scoffed openly at him and said, "It is not possible to avoid magical detection."

Ranma laughed right back at her and said, "Is that so?"

"Yes it is, I know that you are probably used to inferior means of magical tracking considered that you are from a region that is populated by dark creatures and squibs. But I assure you that here, in the British Ministry our means are far more accurate."

Ranma chuckled as he held his arms off to his sides and faded from sight as he asked, "Are you sure about that?"

"Do you know where I am, can you track me? I mean if you're tracking means are so advanced then why was I never found after I was abducted? If you can find me in this room I'll consider your point, but that's only if you can find me… to be fair I won't move from my spot."

Not amused by the delay Fudge called out, "Weasley, go get an Auror with some tracking equipment in here…" Noticing his order wasn't being carried out as quickly as he would like he added, "Get a move on it."

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Several minutes later and three Aurors fudge called off the search and called out, "Very well, we will concede the fact that you were in fact in the alley as well. However that still does not change the fact that Mr. Potter did in fact use a fully corporal Patronus in front of a muggle."

Ranma reappeared standing on the desk directly in front of Umbridge. Hopping down from his perch he said, "Well besides that I knocked out our cousin there is the fact that we were attacked by what you call dementors, and according to your own books the Patronus is the only way to fend them off. So you can see the necessity of Harry's actions as he was in mortal danger at the time."

At the mention of Dementors the courtroom was once again abuzz with the whispers of the spectators.

"Order… I will have order in this court." Fudge demanded as he stared down at the young pig-tailed Warmaster. Glaring he said, "That is propitious, the Dementors are all accounted for at Azkaban. Sir I can understand wanting to stick up for your family, it is a most admirable trait but you should not lie to this court as it could have repercussions against the standing between our nations."

Taking his arms down from across his chest Ranma reached into his pocket and held up a small vial. Waiting for the courtroom to quiet down he said, "In this vial, are my and Harry's memories of the night in question, minus a few seconds that has been deemed a state secret of Jusendryo."

"I am prepared to show this to you and even let you keep it for your investigation." Ranma added.

"Investigation?" Fudge asked, uncertain on what the young lord was talking about.

"Yes, Seeing as exposure to dementors can be lethal, my people are treating this as an attempted assassination on my life as well as my heir. I would imagine that you would not want to bear the responsibility of just ignoring this problem. What would the rest of the wizardry world think if you ignored their diplomat's safety once they were within your borders? Unless you are behind this attempt? If you are you should know that it would constitute an act of war and I would think that you would not want to flex your Aurors against the largest standing army of magical beings."

As an after thought, while Fudge was too busy thinking of the ramifications Ranma's threat had implied, Ranma added, "Just so you know, Harry Potter has diplomatic immunity and cannot be tried without an appeal made to the newly formed high council of Jusendryo. Also, Sirius Black also has immunity, as he has been found not guilty in the international appellate courts. As such, I am awaiting news on your governments capture of Peter Pettigrew, whomever is responsible for this attack on my family, as well as Lord Voldemort and any of his followers for the continued harassment and attempted murder attempts on my Brother."

Turning around sharply, letting his cloak billow out behind him Ranma said, "Come Harry, it's over…" once he passed Lu he added, "You might still want this for your investigation."

Ranma didn't bother looking back as the vial flew across the room, directly into fudges chest.

Harry fell in step right behind Ranma with Lu following after him. Once they had left the courtroom Ranma turned to Lu and said, "You know, I about lost it back there."

Once they stepped out of the courtroom they were met with Mr. Weasley as he had opted to stand outside the doors and wait for news on what happened.

Slapping the older man on the back Ranma began to chuckle, his chuckle turned into light laughter, the laughter soon found itself transforming into a full-blown guffaw.

Not knowing what was going on Mr. Weasley first turned to Lu, only to notice that the aide was preoccupied watching his master with a twinkle in his eye. Turning to Harry he asked, "What's so funny? What happened in there? Did everything go according to plan?"

Harry was amused by the show his brother had put on, it had been rather enjoyable to watch him dominate the hearing. However looking between his brother and Mr. Weasley he failed to see what was so funny. Answering the mans questions he grinned and said, "I don't know. It was bloody fantastic; Ranma here had Fudge almost jumping out of his seat. Oh yeah, I'm not going to be expelled."

"Ah, very good then Harry. Molly would have been devastated if that would of happened."

Ranma having gotten a hold of himself began looking around and noticed that he was receiving a few stares, shrugging them off he asked, "So, Mr. Weasley, there anywhere to get a bite to eat around here? All that talking made me work up a bit of an appetite."

If not for the predetermined fact that the British do not face fault, Mr. Weasley would have been on the floor. Looking at his watch, noting that it was a bit past ten he said, "Ah, yes the commissary should be open to serving brunch about now."

Smiling that he was getting something to eat Ranma stepped to the side and replied, "Well then good sir, if you would lead the way, we shall partake in some refreshments before retiring to back to the manor."

As the group made there way to the cafeteria Harry strode up next to Ranma and asked, "Hey, uh Ranma?"

Slowing his stride a bit Ranma turned to his brother with a curious expression on his face and responded, "Need something Harry?"

"I was wondering… Where did you get the ring from."?

"Ring? What ring?" Ranma asked, perplexed as to what Harry was talking about.

Harry sighed and clarified, "That ring…" pointing to Ranma's hand and continuing with, "The Potter family ring."

"Oh that ring… I went to Gringots a few days ago with Lu. I had to set up a local account and purchase a vault for some of the more dangerous artifacts that I have… Anyway turns out I didn't have to, seeing that I have a trust account from our parents. But when they found out who I was they went and had me sign some more parchments and brought me down to another vault, turns out that we have a family vault as well that can't be accessed until I had turned seventeen. If you want I can sign off on it so you can go in there as well, there's a lot of neat things laying up in there as well as enough gold and gems in there to make what's in our trust vaults seem like chump change."

Harry nodded in understanding and asked, "So you found the ring in the family vault?"

Shaking his head Ranma replied, "Not exactly… After my identity was confirmed a goblin brought in a small wooden box and made me open it. I did, then there was a flash of light and next thing I knew I was wearing this ring. It turns invisible and only appears when I seem to need it. Lu told me that as the oldest of our family that is old enough to wear it, it is mine until I decide to pass it down, some sort of inheritance law or something."

Harry shrugged, his curiosity had been sated and he really didn't care about inheritance laws as long as he had his brother there he figured that he'd let him deal with it.

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After getting a quick bite to eat at the ministry cafeteria Ranma, Lu and Harry said goodbye to Mr. Weasley as he still had work to do and made their way to the main entrance so they could leave.

Currently the small group was somewhat lost as none of them had been in the building before with the exception of Lu whom had just been in the diplomat section.

Turning to Ranma and Lu Harry said, "this looks familiar, I think I know where we are now. Just follow me and we'll get out of here in a few minutes." Quickening his pace, Harry turned a corner and collided with someone with an, "oomph"

"Watch where you're going you imbecile… "

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Lucius Malfoy was in high spirits; today was the day that the troublesome thorn in his master's side was going to be removed permanently from the limelight. He had decided not to attend the hearing, as he was unsure on whether or not he would be able to contain his glee at the young Potters feeble attempts at explaining his actions. So instead he decided to show up afterwards and meet with the imbecile Minister Fudge and fish out the details. So after owling the Minister to meet him at the main apparation point in the entrance hall, he had apparated in.

Upon his arrival he noted to himself that Fudge seemed flustered and frustrated, not really worried about it Lucius had forgone mentioning Potters case until they were in the privacy of the ministers office.

While approaching an intersection within the ministry halls Lucius turned his attention briefly once more to Fudge noting that the man still seemed pre-occupied and in a rather foul mood. Just as he was turning his head to face front he felt an impact that nearly cost him his balance. Verbally lashing out he lashed out, "Watch where you are going you imbecile…" Taking notice of the form now sprawled out at his feet he sneered darkly as he recognized his lords slippery nemesis. Mockingly he taunted, "Well, if it isn't the great Harry Potter. Not even a day goes by after getting your wand snapped and you are already causing more trouble… Tsk, Tsk… Perhaps someone should force some manners into your halfblooded brain."

Harry had been about to issue an apology to whomever he had ran into before he recognized the person as Lucius Malfoy. Scowling up at the man he was about to retort when he noticed that the man had pulled out his wand.

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Ranma and Lu rounded the corner a few seconds after Harry, both had been walking at a leisure pace and not in any real hurry as they were both busy examining their surroundings knowing that this was not going to be the last time they walked these halls.

Upon turning the corner though Ranma paused briefly as he took stock of the situation. Harry was sprawled out on the ground and there was a man with slicked back long platinum hair standing over him waving his wand threatenly at his brother. Ranma growled, he had heard stories about the attempts on his brothers life as well as been informed about how many enemies he has but until that moment it had not yet set in, that Harry's life was in danger as actions tend to have a greater effect than words.

Taking action before Lu had a chance to interfere Ranma blurred forward and grabbed a hold of the mans wrist with one hand, forcibly squeezing it with his strength unrelenting until he heard popping and crunching sounds. With his other hand he trapped the mans throat and lifted him from the floor, careful enough so as to not yet squeeze the life out of him. (2)

Temporarily ignoring the man within his grasp Ranma turned his head to face Harry and asked calmly, "Harry, you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Harry said as he was climbing to his feet while dusting himself off. Once his footing was restored he added with a smirk, "That's Lucius Malfoy, they guy who slipped Ginny the diary my second year."

Ranma turned his head to regard the man dangling in front of him. After a bit of scrutiny he asked, "So this guy is a death eater, eh… Doesn't look like much. Can't even get himself out of a simple one handed choke hold."

Minister Fudge had been in his own little world worried about what he was going to do now that he had two Potter thorns to worry about when he realized what was happening in front of him. Outraged at the audacity of the new unknown factor for attacking one of his personal friends he bellowed, "THAT IS ENOUGH. I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU ATTACKING OUTSTANDING WIZARDS IN MY PRESENCE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING BUT HERE IN ENGLAND WE DO NOT ATTACK OTHERS LIKE SOME SORT OF SAVAGE BEAST. I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE HIM AT ONCE BEFORE I AM GIVEN NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO CALL SECURITY AND LET THEM DEAL WITH YOU. IMMUNITY OR NOT I WILL HAVE YOU BOOTED FROM MY SOIL SO FAST YOUR HEAD WILL SPIN."

Turning his stare into an icy glare as he looked into Lucius eye's Ranma spoke in a low tone, his words coming out like ice, "Minister, I am well within my rights to stop anyone from harming Harry as any attack on him is an attack on me. So either call your Aurors or shut up and get out of the way…" with a smirk he added, "Things are about to get a little messy… Lu put up a shield and keep Harry and his mighty pompusness safe."

Once again giving the man squirming within his grasp his attention Ranma coldly said, "You want to point that stick at somebody? How bout pointing it at me?" Having said all that he cared to say at the moment Ranma released the man at his wrist and then using the hand around the mans neck choke tossed him a few feet down the hall.

Landing on his back, cradling his injured wrist Lucius let his temper flare, "_How dare he attempt to manhandle me. He's obviously a friend of Potters, I'll have to show him the error of his ways so he knows what happens to him when he dares to attack his betters."_ Attempting to gain control over his wheezing breath Malfoy climbed to his feet disguising his rage by calmly dusting himself off.

Noticing that the mans wand was down at his feet Ranma used his foot to kick it off of the floor and into his hand. Without losing a beat he said as he tossed the wand at the man, "Here I believe that you dropped your little twig."

Lucius sneered at the audacity of the punk. Picking up his wand with his no injured hand he moved into a standard dueling form and sneered, "Insolent brat, you should learn to respect your betters."

Ranma laughed, the pale blonde guy in front of him was pathetic, his power levels were nowhere near his own (2a) and he had no physical abilities above a beginner in martial arts. Deciding to have a bit of fun while he put the bastard in his place he taunted sagely, "Wise words, perhaps you should take them into your own heart and practice what you preach… Death eater."

He was a Malfoy, he was a Slytheryn, he is one of the Dark Lords most trusted decuples, there was no way that he'd let some child get the better of him. With that in mind he sneered once more and warned, "Careful… you should know better than to throw unfounded accusations about." Shaking his head in mock sadness he added, "Perhaps, it is too much to expect someone so obviously low born as yourself to know of the consequences of smearing the Malfoy name."

(3)

Going for a sagely wise cool look Ranma flipped off his cloak by snapping the clasp and shrugging his shoulders and replied, "It is only a smear when the accusation has no basis in reality… Death eater." Pretending to stretch himself out a bit he added, "So, how's your master doing anyway? Must not be much of a dark lord if my little brother has been foiling his nefarious plans for the last few years. Actually if you think about he must be a total wuss. I mean come on, he was taken out by a baby." Shifting his head slightly to spare Harry a glance he quickly amended, "No offence, their Harry."

Harry just responded with a mock glare, he was having too much fun watching what was going on to be offended by his brother's unintentional slight.

Malfoy stood there shocked for a brief second surprised at the fact that the older potter was still alive, this was something he would have to take up with Severus as it is his job to keep them appraised of such matters. Wanting to report this new information bak to his master as quickly as possible he shrugged off the rest of Ranma's taunts and coolly replied, "I was under the impression that you wanted a duel boy… I should have known, you are just like your brother, just a pompous brat who wants nothing more than to be the center of attention."

Ranma smiled, it wasn't a nice smile, no it was a smile of sinister intent. Moving himself into his, 'I'm just going to stand here and let you hit me because I don't know what I'm doing' stance. Nodding his head he said, "Feel free to start whenever you're ready… Death eater."

Biting back his anger and knowing that he would not be able to use an unforgivable within the halls of the ministry, as well as shrugging off his annoyance of his opponent not arming himself, Lucius twirled his wand before calling out, "STUPIDFY."

Ranma snorted in disbelief, the power behind this attack was nothing compared to what he was used to. Not even bothering to move he focused his magic and ki together and with a flare of his eyes formed a shield around himself while projecting a clueless smile.

Quickly recovering from his shock over his spell not having any effect Lucius quickly casted another spell. With a shout of, "Petrificus Totalus." He hoped that that would force his opponent into some type of reaction.

Ranma just stood there with a bored expression on his face as another spell slammed into his shield, while buffing his fingernails on his shirt. Faking a yawn he casually asked, "Is that the best you got? Cause if it is then you're definitely gonna lose."

Annoyed that his spells were not affecting Ranma Lucius grinned evilly and called out, "Sectumsempra"

Ranma felt a larger concentration of magic leaving Malfoy's wand, knowing that his shield was not going to hold as it was he quickly dumped more ki and magic into it, reinforcing it's strength.

Malfoy growled in anger, as he received no evidence of his spell reaching through the barrier that was put up. "_That spell is powerful, he should be laying on the ground with his chest shredded."_

Ranma grimaced slightly; he knew his shield could not handle anything stronger than that last spell. Also blocking it had used up a considerable amount of his energy, as he hadn't been able to gage the power level of the spell as accurately as he had the first two. Torn between taunting his opponent and waiting to see what he was going to throw at him next verses attacking and getting the fight over with, Ranma decided to taunt. Snorting he asked, "Is that the best you can do?" Receiving no immediate answer but a scowl he added, "I know house elves with more zing in their attacks… Death Eater."

Letting his rage boil over Lucius gave out a frustrated cry of, "Incendio, Incendio, Incendio, Incendio." Fully expecting his opponent to either dodge out of the way or be reduced to ashes."

Ranma blinked as several powerful fireballs came racing towards him, it seemed hi opponent was fully unaware of whom he was dealing with. Ranma suppressed a chuckle at that. It was a nice feeling to be the one that would be doing the surprising for once. Dropping his shield totally he braced himself with ki and magic intent on taking the blasts head on.

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Harry gasped as he saw Ranma take down his almost invisible shield. He tried to rush forward and shove his brother out of the way of the fireballs but was held in place by Mr. Sun. "Let me go… He'll get hurt," He pleaded as the magical balls of fire collided with Ranma. Seeing nothing but fire and smoke Harry choked back a sob as he turned to face his restrainer and yell, "YOU BASTARD… YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO AIDE HIM… HOW COULD YOU… I TRUSTED YOU… YOU LET HIM DIE…. "

Casting a quick calming charm Lu embraced the young master and softly said, "Have you so little faith in your brother that you would question his ability to do what he does best."(4)

Confused over his sudden calmness over his brothers demise. Harry mulled Lu's words over in his mind a few times before he asked, "What do you mean?"

Taking Harry's head with his hand he pointed it to where Ranma was supposedly burned to ashes and said, "Watch and learn young Master, your brother is more than he seems."

Harry looked into the hall, he was hard pressed to see any details in the hall as it was now covered in a thick layer of smoke. He was about to turn his head away when he heard hacking coughs coming from the smoke obscured hallway.

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Ranma grimaced; taking those hits had used up more of his reserves than he had thought. Pushing out his ki to disperse the smoke he attempted to dust off his now tattered uniform.

Malfoy's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when the smoke dissipated and revealed his opponent. While the majority of his clothes seemed to have been burned off, his body seemed unblemished from the attack.

Realizing his tattered state of undress Ranma chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his head. Thanking his luck that his breast plate and cod piece were non-flammable, Ranma steeled his features and jested, "Well now that I've had the chance to warm up a bit, maybe I should show you what a real fireball looks like.

Moving his right arm parallel to the ground pointing at Lucius with the palm facing up Ranma concentrated and called out, "Fireball." Subsequently letting loose a massive fireball that was three feet in diameter.

Raising one hand in defense to cover his face while his other cycled through motions Lucius called out, "PROTEGO," knowing that there was no where to dodge and without the shield he was going to be literal toast.

Pppswishh- engulfing fire sound

Ranma relaxed his stance, while the fireball had been weak, he had formed it for maximum effect, meaning that it was to be an engulfing blaze but not incineratory. He waited a few moments before motioning with his hand using a bit of ki and magic to raise up a small gust of wind to put out the fire and disperse the smoke.

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Lucius Malfoy's head was spinning, besides the burns covering his body and the pains that went along with them he felt like he had been ran over by a run away dragon. Through his bleary eyes he could see that the majority of his clothes had been destroyed.

Ranma motioned for Lu to drop his shield and follow him with Harry and Fudge following as well. Walking up to the downed man Ranma noticed something on the mans forearm. Grasping the mans wrist he turned to a stunned and contemplative fudge and asked, "Hey, what's this mark mean?"

Stepping closer so he could get a good look Harry grinned and answered, "It's the dark mark. It means he works for Voldemort willingly as it can't be forced upon anyone."

Fudge was flustered as he was having problems swallowing the fact that one of his utmost supporters was in fact a death eater. "He… Can't… Death eater… Scandal… Ruined…"

Ranma ignored the man; instead he concentrated on the sounds of approaching footsteps. Turning to Harry and Lu he said, "There's a lot of people coming this way fast."

Nodding his head in understanding Lu motioned Harry back behind him and prepared to put up a shield just incase things went south.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

Lu knew that the entire situation could spin rapidly out of control, especially if he let Ranma do all the talking. Sure Ranma had been doing well and preformed outstandidly at the hearing but that was after countless hours of planning and practice. Choosing to take the lead he shouted, "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON HERE… THIS DEATH EATER ON THE FLOOR, WHOM WAS ACCOMPANIED BY YOUR VERY OWN MINISTER OF MAGIC NO LESS, ATTACKED LORD HARRY… LORD RANMA HERE STEPPED IN AND DUELED HIM AS IS HIS RIGHT TO PROTECT HIS HIER…"

Amelia Bones turned to her Aurors and gave then non-verbal permission to step forward and examine the moaning burnt figure on the ground, before turning her attention back to the group in front of her. She was at a loss of sorts on how to handle the situation, the Minister of Magic had been there but he seemed to be in his own world muttering something about being ruined. Ranma seemed to be okay with the exception of his clothes that must have been burnt off. Harry and Lu looked fine as well, though Harry's face seemed to be portraying several different emotions. Deciding to get a handle on the situation she said softly in an effort to keep Mr. Sun from yelling, "Sir, if you would calm down I am certain that we can all get to the bottom of this."

A thought occurred to Lu as he considered his choice of words; this entire situation had given them a rather rare opportunity to offer a bit of payback to the political weasel that was the Minister of Magic. Putting as much outrage into his voice as he could he shouted, "CALM DOWN… CALM DOWN… MY LORD COMES TO THIS COUNTRY TO SEEK OUT HIS FAMILY ONLEY TO FIND OUT THAT HIS BROTHER IS BEING PERSICUTED FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO STAND UP AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT… THEN AFTER WE FOIL THE ATTEMPTS TO SMEAR MY LORDS FAMILIES GOOD NAME YOUR MINISTER OF MAGIC HAS THE AUDASITY TO BRING IN A DEATHEATER TO ASSANINATE HIM WITHIN THESE VERY HALLS. CALM DOWN… CALM DOWN INDEED…"

With practiced ease Lu kept his emotions in check as he figured that bursting out laughing would not win him any acting awards. Noting that the hall had become silent as all eyes were on him he decided to go for the metaphorical gold and continued, "THIS IS OUTRAGOUS… NO NO… THIS IS AN ACT OF WAR… YES THAT'S WHAT THIS IS… MARK MY WORDS THIS EVENT SHALL NOT GO UN PUNISHED…"

Amelia resisted the urge to grab the bridge of her nose in frustration. Turning her head she realized that she had not yet taken a look to see who this death eater was as he had quite a few burns and a lot of is clothing was just as tattered as Ranma's. She loosely scanned the prone whimpering figure as her Aurors continued first aide. On the forearm she could plainly see the Dark mark revealing this man to be a death eater. It wasn't until one of her Aurors moved out of the way though that she was able to see the face of the attacked. With a gasp she exclaimed, "It's Lucius Malfoy!" At that moment she knew things just got a lot more complicated with the minister, Malfoy was a big player in the political front and had many allies and associates and to be revealed as a death eater within the halls of the ministry could have dire consequences for a lot of people.

Despite the complications though Amelia was pleasantly surprised at the revelation of Lucius being a death eater. Her Aurors had been attempting to pin something on him for years but had been forced to back off because of his slippery nature. Giving a nod to Head Auror Scrimgeour she said, "Take him into custody, I want him interrogated with Veritaserum. After that take him into a secure cell and keep him isolated so he can't warn any of his fellow death eaters. If all goes well he will have company later as we pick up his friends."

"Yes mam." Turning his attention to the other Aurors he said, "You two guard that filthy death eater and follow me."

Amelia turned her attention back to the remaining four people in the hall, noticing that Fudge seemed to be coming to his senses she said, "Minister Fudge, you must calm down and address these allegations as it is I am going to have to launch a full investigation to find out your role in all this."

Fudge raised his head like he had been slapped; he knew that he had to distant himself from Lucius if he wanted to even consider keeping his position. He also realized that he had to get on the good side of the two Potters because well frankly he was scared, while watching Ranma's duel with Lucius he realized that as young as Ranma was he had to be quite skilled at dueling to be able to best a dark creature as well as Lucius Malfoy.

Putting on his best political game face he started, "Lord Potter's, please forgive my ignorance, I had no idea that Mr. Malfoy was Infact a death eater, he used me as a pawn to get to you. I assure you that he will not go unpunished and that we shall do our best to make reparations to you on this matter." Nodding to himself in satisfaction he though, "_Good, good, I might be able to salvage my career yet. Though I don't really know what happened, I was too busy steaming about the trail to notice what happened to start all this. If I can spin this just right I might even be able to come out as the hero."_

Ranma turned to Lu and shrugged, he had been surprised by Lu's quick thinking and wasn't sure where to take this, turning his attention back to Minister Fudge he said, "Minister if you could give me a moment I'd like to talk with my aide on this matter."

"Yes, go on ahead and do so… Take your time."

Stepping a bit further down the hallway Ranma Lu and Harry huddled up to work out a plan. After a few minutes they broke the huddle and Ranma approached Minister Fudge and Amelia and said, "You spoke of reparations?"

Sighing in relief Fudge nodded, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that this new Potter was as greedy as everyone else. "Yes, as long as it is within reason, meaning that it does not compromise my integrity."

Ranma nodded, and said, "Very well, then this is what I want. One fourth of the Malfoy bank holdings as well as ownership of Malfoy Manor. I realize that you might think that this is a bit much, however it must be shown that there are going to be steep consequences if someone dares to attack my family."

Fudge gagged and sputtered, he didn't even think that that was possible. "Lord Potter, that is a most difficult request, it might not even be possible to grant. Surely there is something else I can do for you?"

"Well…" Ranma drawled out, "I suppose there is one other thing I require."

"Yes."

"A formal apology in the daily prophet to Harry for all over the slanderous crap that has been said about him. All these demands are will be met, otherwise I might be forced to seek out a non-diplomatic solution."

Paling a bit, Fudge nodded, he didn't know if it was possible but right now he just wanted to get back to his office, so far this day had become a political nightmare and he just wanted to get it over with. Taking a step back he said, "I will send word to you via owl as soon as the preparations have been made. If you will excuse me I will get to work on this strait away."

Ranma just waved him off; turning his attention to Amelia he gave her a rueful grin. "Do you need anything from us or can we get going, these rags I'm wearing are really itchy."

Amelia thought about it for a moment before saying, "I suppose I can get your statement later if we need it, so you can get going if you want."

Ranma thanked her and turned to face Lu and Harry and said, "Well lets get going the sooner I'm out of these rags the better."

Inspiration hit Harry like a mountain troll so he asked, "Say Ranma, I'm allowed to do magic now right?"

Ranma turned to Lu and said, "I don't know, Lu?"

Lu nodded and replied, "Lord Harry is now allowed to do magic out side of school and does not have to worry about being caught or expelled due to his diplomatic immunity. Furthermore, our own laws in the valley allow him to practice as long as he is supervised by someone of legal age."

Picking up Ranma's cloak off the ground Harry said, "Well if that's the case then I can help you with your clothes brother."

Ranma shrugged, the clothes were itchy and Harry could do magic now without fear of compromising any secrets (6) besides he was curious to know what his brother could do. "Sure go ahead Harry."

Harry smirked; while he held his brother no ill will over his earlier crack he figured that a bit of revenge was due. Taking out his wand he pointed it at Ranma and banished his clothes, leaving Ranma wearing just the chest plate and codpiece.

Ranma instantly knew that something was wrong, while he was feeling a bit of a draft before he now was feeling quite drafty. Looking down he realized that Harry had fixed his clothing situation, as all the itchy burned silk was now completely absent from his frame.

Amelia wasn't sure that the small group realized that she was still standing there as she watched the interesting display fold out in front of her. And as Ranma turned his backside to her she realized that she should pay extra attention so when she got home she could add these memories to her pensive. She was a grown woman after all and did have needs.

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Around ten minutes later Ranma, Lu and Harry arrived at 12 Grimmauld place. Ranma who was currently wrapped in his cloak quickly made his was to the door and knocked; hoping that whoever opened the door would not notice his state of undress underneath his cloak. He sighed in relief, as it was Remus who opened the door.

"The others were wondering when you all would be getting back. Everything go off as planned?" Remus asked.

Ranma nodded and said, "Actually I'm not sure that things could have went better."

Remus gave Harry a pat on the shoulder as he followed Ranma into the house and stated, "See there Harry, there was nothing to worry about. Everyone has been waiting for you to get back so they can hear how it went."

Ranma taking his chance to escape said, "Well while you and Lu are filling everyone in on what happened I'll just be upstairs changing."

"Nonsense deary, you looked quite fetching in that uniform this morning. Besides Ronald found an old wizarding camera earlier and I figured we could test it out by getting a picture of you and your brother together in your fancy clothes."

Ranma held onto his impulse to jump, he did not know how Mrs. Weasley had snuck up on him. Attempting to get out of the potentially dangerous situation he turned to Lu whom seemed to be whistling casually alongside Harry whose face was being overrun with his grin. Muttering, "traitors." Under his breath Ranma attempted to stall. "Uhm…. Okay but first I need to go wash up, I want to make sure I look alright for the picture."

"Nonsense dear, you look fine as you are. Now hurry up then the others are waiting in the drawing room for us, then we'll take the picture and you can go off to change."

Ranma sagged his head; Lu, Remus and Harry had already made their way in the direction of the drawing room. Seeing no other option he followed, with Mrs. Weasley behind him.

Ranma was sweating bullets as he entered the room, thankfully his cloak was still effectively hiding his near nakedness and he hoped that they would let him take the picture with it covering him as he thought it would be a bad idea to reveal his unclothed state. Especially when there are four women in the room, Tonks Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

Taking charge of the room Molly said, "Harry I want you to stand over there next to the desk. Ranma stand next to him a little behind him and put your arm around him. Hermione take the camera and stand over there, make sure both of them are in the picture."

Now Ranma was really sweating as if he moved his arms the cloak would be shifted enough to see what he wasn't wearing. Nervously he said, "Err, I can't."

Tonks turned her attention to Ranma and noticed that he was looking rather warm, stepping up to him she said, "Molly look at him he looks like he's burning up. Maybe we should have him take off the cloak before he passes out on us." Of course due to the fact that Tonks was focusing on Ranma she missed Harry's snickers of amusement.

"I think your right there dear, he does look rather flushed. Well take off the cloak then and we will see about getting you something right after we take the photo."

Ranma shifted in his place, it was rather unnerving to be standing there at the moment. After cycling through several curses that he could use on Harry Ranma weakly offered, "Uhm, no. That's not necessary… I'll just go lay down and we can take the picture later."

"Awe come on brother, let's just get this out of the way now and that way you can go relax.' Harry said as he held back his laughter.

Unfortunately for Ranma, Harry's brief distraction allowed Tonks enough time to move behind him and undo the clasp that kept the cloak attached.

For a brief second Ranma was frozen as he realized that he was missing his cloak. That is until the telltale flash of a camera woke him out of his stupor. With a, "I'm sorry… Not my fault…" He dashed from the room intent on getting dressed before something bad happens.

As the rooms occupants came to their senses over what had just happened Molly asked, "Did you get the picture?"

Blushing profusely Hermione nodded and replied, "Uhm… I think so."

"I want a copy." Said Tonks as she started making her way slowly to the door.

"Me too."

Instantly several heads turned to face the youngest Weasley.

Shifting uncomfortably in their gazes she added, "I don't have any pictures of Harry."

Molly nodded and said, "Yes, good idea Ginny. We can never have enough pictures of Harry. I'll need a copy as well."

Somehow Harry was getting the impression that they did not want a copy because he was in it.

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Notes0

1- Ranma has only heard about Percy and not seen him yet, and any pictures that contain his image are either empty or missing him as his image has left the picture. This isn't covered in my story but it is in the book, it's a minor detail so I left it out

2-Ranma is possessive and protective, in cannon he had shown similar traits when Akane was threatened but I think this reaction is more like during the ice skating match where Ranma threatened to kill Makoto? Mikato? Whoever the male skater Sp?? Where he said something like, "If you touch her I'll kill you." Or something like that don't fully remember

2a- a wand is a focus, so while it means that Ranma will read people as weaker than what they are but only because the wand focuses and amplifies it

3

3-He doesn't know who Ranma is as he was not at the hearing. So to him Ranma looks like some flashy dressed Lockhart person and since he doesn't recognize Ranma he assumes, and we all know what happens when we assume.

4

4-Lu is not really a human, remember he is a house elf cursed and locked in a human form, so his magic is different than normal wizards and although he doesn't need a wand it is not the same thing as Ranma not using a wand.

6

6Before Harry could have done magic but they did not want to tip their hand early so they had him hold off doing so until after the hearing, where he would have immunity and be able to use magic without repercussions.


	9. Chapter 9

Brothers United Chapter 9

Well I was going to work on Making a Difference and another chapter of Festival but inspiration hit with this chapter but no need to be glum, as within the next two weeks I should have those finished as well. And if you haven't read them you should, as they are good fics. I wouldn't lie to you… well okay I would but I'm not.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank you for all your reviews; my ego is being stroked rather nicely. One thing though if you leave a anonymous review that just say's you are confused, it doesn't help me as I don't know what is confusing I try to be straightforward yet still elusive for the plot and yes there is a plot. Also when leaving an anonymous review if you have a question I can't answer it unless you give me a means to contact you. I do realize that I don't reply to reviews very often as I don't want to spoil the plot but on occasion where the reader has difficulties I will try to help explain as it gives me an idea on what I need to simplify.

Thank you.

Many thanks to James Axelrad for all his help.

I do not own Ranma ½ or Harry Potter, nor do I want to as I prefer to be a starving artist but I use the term loosely, which term is up to you (starving or artist).

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The events of this chapter take place directly following chapter 8.

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Standing in front of a mirror now clad in boxer shorts, as he had removed his chest plate and codpiece, Ranma sighed. As of late, ever since the battle with Saffron, Ranma had been having problems recognizing his face in the mirror.

When the spell that kept his birth heritage locked away broke it had done a number on him. Not only had it unsealed his magic but also it had changed him. Structurally he was the same. He had the same cheekbones, the same eyes, and the same build in both forms, even his hair was the same, well mostly it seemed thicker now. No the problem was with his coloring; it wasn't that he was a racist or anything like that. It was just that even with all the changes in his life he thought of himself as Japanese, but his now pastier complexion begged to differ.

Hearing a knock at the door Ranma turned his attention to his state of undress and glanced into his closet to grab something to wear. As he looked into his closet he realized that he was out of clean clothes to wear as all he had in his closet were the dress Lu showed him earlier, the leather top and skirt he had accidentally bought with Tonks and a few other outfits that he had left over from his days as Ranko Tendo.

Knock knock

Not knowing who it was Ranma shut the closet door and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me, can I come in."

Ranma shrugged; technically he was wearing shorts, moving back over to the bed he replied, "Sure come on in Tonks."

Tonks opened the door and let out a low whistle at Ranma's state of dress before saying, "So you decided that flashing us with your cute bum wasn't enough and now you're just going to walk around in your britches… I don't know if I should be jealous or not."

Ranma flushed before flustering out, "Hey, that wasn't my fault… Harry set me up."

Tonks nodded while she closed the door behind her and said, "Suuurre… Blame Harry."

Ranma huffed. He may be dense at times but he could recognize sarcasm.

Seeing his indignant look Tonks placated with, "Oh come now, I was just teasing." After pausing a minute to take in Ranma's form in closer detail Tonks added with a wink, "So is there a reason you are standing around in your boxers or are you a seer and decided to wait for me so you could put on a show."

Shaking his head Ranma replied, "I'm out of clothes. I don't know what happened I know I had a few different clothes in the closet this morning."

Walking over to the closet Tonks said, "Let me take a look." Walking over to the closet she opened it and after a brief second she said, "Look like you have quite a few clothes in here."

"Those are girl clothes." Ranma nearly whined before adding, "I'm trying to keep my girl form a secret from Harry until he masters Occlumency and Legilimency."

Tonks shrugged and asked, "Why can't you do that thing that changes your clothes."

Ranma sighed and replied, "That's a special charm that Lu put on some of my male clothes. It only resizes them to fit except for my boxers. Those change to the proper underwear."

Pulling out what looked to be a plane yellow sundress Tonks said, "Well, I guess you only have one option."

Looking at the dress Ranma said, "What about Harry?"

"What about Harry?"

"You know… What I just said, his final goal with learning Legilimency is to pull this secret from my mind."

"So, that doesn't mean that we can't go shopping to pick you up some new clothes." Not giving Ranma a chance to say no Tonks added, "Now hurry up and get dressed."

Taking the pale yellow sundress Ranma looked around nervously.

Seeing Ranma's hesitation Tonks muttered, "For cry'n out loud." Switching to an exasperated tone she added, "Look it's not like if you change forms you wouldn't have anything I don't have."

Ranma wondered briefly if he was turning into a bit of a prude seeing as if he had been back in Nerima he wouldn't have cared if some one saw him change, well other than Happossai. (1) Sighing he shifted forms and muttered the small incantation that shifted her boxers into proper cotton female garments

Noticing that Ranma still seemed reluctant to get dressed Tonks said, "As lovely as you look in your knickers, I really don't think you can walk around London like that."

Shaking her head Ranma stepped into the dress and pulled it up to where it was on and asked, "Okay, so what now?"

"Now, my dear redheaded maiden, you put some shoes on and call your phoenix out and ask it for a lift out of the wards."

Grabbing a pair of sandals Ranma was about to call out for Hinote again when the door opened and Lu stepped inside.

"Ah Master Ranma. By the looks of things I caught you just in time."

Not noticing that Hinote appeared without having to be called Ranma asked, "You needed something Lu?'

"Ah, yes. Lord Ranma. I came up here to ask if we can make our move with the daily Prophet as it would be of a greater benefit to act now rather than wait a week."

Looking back at Lu Ranma nodded and replied, "Great idea Lu, You want me to come with you or do you want to handle it?"

Lu waved his hand dismissively and replied, "All I have to do is contact our new editor and send her the papers to take over."

Wanting in on the conversation Tonks asked, "Who'd you get for the editor."

Ranma gave a shrug that meant that she didn't know as she had let Lu take care of it and looked at Lu expectantly.

"Surprisingly or not it was young Miss Hermione that referred her to me. It turns out that our new editor and Master Harry have a bit of history together."

Giving Lu a clueless look Ranma said, "Out with it already Lu."

"Rita Skeeter."

Realization dawned slowly for the young pigtailed warmaster and she asked incredulously, "You mean that woman that wrote all that crap about Harry last year?"

Lu shrugged and replied, 'Apparently yes. However thanks to Master Harry's friends we have means to ensure her loyalty and the fat salary you are paying her doesn't hurt either."

Rubbing her head Ranma shrugged and replied, "Whatever, as long as she does what she's told we won't have a problem… So I take it we are going to have something about the trial and what happened afterward in the paper tomorrow."

"Yes, My Lord. Also I have taken the liberty to construct a short bio on you as well. Nothing important as well as nothing that isn't common knowledge about you will be in it."

"That's fine, you want to use Hinote for the delivery?"

"No that's okay, I figured I could use one of the owls here."

Walking up to Tonks and taking her hand Ranma signaled Hinote over and said, "We'll be back before…"Receiving an elbow from Tonks Ranma corrected herself and finished, "Sometime after dinner."

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Lucius Malfoy was in a world of pain as he became aware of his surroundings. Forcing himself into a sitting position with a wince he examined his accommodations and grimaced. Whoever had brought him to Saint Mungo's had obviously put him in substandard accommodations, not fit for someone of his personage.

He silently vowed revenge on whomever he had dueled. At first he suspected that the oldest Potter Boy had been the one who he had fought but he had dismissed that as he had been informed a long time ago that he was dead. Ultimately though it didn't matter as whomever it was had made him to be a fool and that would not be tolerated. He was a Malfoy and whomever he had fought would rue the day he had crossed his path.

Right now though that was more of a secondary concern as he felt his accommodations left something to be desired for.

Attempting to get on his feet he groaned pitifully and settle back down, currently his body was in too much pain to stand. Instead he decided that he would just call out for a nurse and have her explain as to why he was given such shoddy arrangements.

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After he recovered from laughing his ass off from seeing his older brother run from the room bare assed, Harry returned his attention back to the present only to see all eyes on him looking rather expectant. Shuffling his feet awkwardly he asked, "What?"

Hermione huffed and in her usual demanding tone said, "Honestly Harry, what do you mean? What? Aren't you going to tell us what happened at your hearing?"

"Yeah mate, how'd it go, you make the minister eat his words or what?" Chirped Ron.

Looking around Harry realized that everyone seemed interested to know what happened so he made his was over to a couch and started, "It was bloody brilliant…."

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Several hours later

Ranma sighed as he materialized back into his room with Hinote; he had just dropped Tonks of at her apartment along with several bags of clothes that he was certain she'd never have time to wear. "_Well, it's not like I have much room to talk. I didn't exactly come back empty-handed."_ He mused as he set his several bags of purchases on the bed so he could put them away.

The trip had turned from a friendly shopping trip to pick up a few more articles of clothing into one of endurance as Tonks drug him around Muggle London into what he thought must have been every shop in the city.

He now had a complete wardrobe for both his forms from shoes to sunglasses. Including formal wear, sweats, a running suit, swimsuits though he didn't know why he'd need a set for his male side as he had never been in a body of water that didn't activate his curse even though he now had a measure of control over it.

Thinking about it though he considered, "_Though I suppose a male swimsuit can come in handy. Hell, there are probably lakes in the Wizarding world that are always warm. It would be nice to actually go swimming with a girl and not worry about some guy attempting to pick up one of us. That seems to always be a problem whenever I try to go swimming. I can only imagine how bad it will be if Tonks and I go swimming together, especially with her choice of swimsuits."_ At that Ranma blushed remembering that Tonks had gotten them matching low cut blue and red string bikini's, with the British flag on the rear.

Digging through the bags and setting aside the ones filled with either clothes or shoes he came to the one that interested him the most. Growing up on the road like he had he had never really acquired a taste for some things that many would consider commonplace among his peers, the primary of those things being music.

Well once Tonks had been made aware of that fact she had drug him into several record stores attempting to help him find his likes and dislikes. Ranma shook his head at the memory, it had all started when he noticed the shirt Tonks was wearing and he asked, "Hey Tonks, what are the Weird Sisters?"

Well at first she had just laughed at him not taking him seriously, but when she saw his expression, she stared at him intently before asking him how he could not know who they were.

That in its self had turned into a debate as Ranma listed off the reasons as to why he would have never heard of them with Tonks being a devoted fan trying to refute his reasons by saying that they were more popular than Michael Jackson.

Now Ranma recognized the name, but at the time he was having a bit of fun watching Tonks get worked up because of his lack of musical knowledge. So as innocently as he could he asked, "Isn't he that basketball player?"

Well Ranma's innocent crack had worked to an extent, though instead of getting more worked up though Tonks just decided to educate him by having him listen to as many samples of various artists as she could find, ranging from classical to Rap.

Finding the bag with his newest prize, Ranma pulled out a Sony Discman and took it out of its package. He had gotten a cassette player or walkman too as Tonks had said that the Discman would mess up and skip if he did any type of physical activity with it other than walk slowly. (2) (3)

Once he had finished taking the Discman out of its package and installed the batteries, Ranma dumped his bag of CDs onto the bed so he could sort through them. He felt kind of excited about the entire thing and couldn't wait to break in his new toys.

So engrossed into what he was doing Ranma failed to notice Lu enter the room.

"Master Ranma."

Headphones blaring, Ranma continued sorting through his pile of various CDs and tapes ignorant of Lu's presence.

Noting Ranma's lack of attention to him Lu repeated himself slightly louder than before, "MASTER RANMA."

Still not receiving a response Lu sighed frustrated, he was pretty sure that Ranma knew he was there. After all one does not become a high level martial artist without being aware of their surroundings. As if on cue Ranma began to hum along with the music streaming from his headphones, though to Lu it sounded more like the brutal murder of twenty squirrels.

Giving an exasperated huff Lu reached out and tapped Ranma's shoulder, while saying, "MASTER RANMA."

"I heard you the first time Lu, I was just waiting for you to say whatever you were going to."

Lu shook his head; it appeared that he had more work to do as far as Ranma's manners were concerned. Clearing his throat he continued, "There has been a change of plans."

Taking the headphones off his ears Ranma placed them down on the bed and asked, "Did something happen?"

"Not exactly, it appears that Ms. Skeeter would like to run the stories for the morning edition and not the evening edition as we had planned."

Shrugging his shoulders Ranma asked, "So? It's not like a half day really matters."

"That may be true however this means that I will be preoccupied tonight going over details with Ms. Skeeter and therefore be unable to attend tonight's Order meeting."

Absentmindedly shuffling through a few more CDs Ranma said, "Hey, it's no problem. I'll fill you in later, besides it's not like anything important is going to happen at it. As far as I know all that's going on is that Snape is making a report."

"Professor Snape's opinion of you and Master Harry is well known and I just wanted to caution you as I do not trust him."

Rolling his eyes in an exaggerated fashion Ranma pretended to be offended and replied, "Honestly Lu, I'm not a child. Besides it's not like he can do anything to me and if he tries anything that… Uhm… Madam Pomfrey… I think that's her name. Anyway if he tries anything Madam Pomfrey will be there to patch him up after I finish with him."

Rubbing his temples Lu added, "Be that as it may, I want you to be careful around him. I do not trust him."

Ranma gave off a short laugh and barked out, "Like I do? Honestly Lu don't worry about it. Both Harry and I are good enough at Occlumency to tell if someone is trying to enter our minds. Now is there anything else?"

Walking over to his desk Lu mentioned, "Yes as matter of fact there is, even though more detailed stories will be forthcoming in tomorrow morning's paper, a summary of some events should be coming out in tonight's edition. Ms. Skeeter was unable to stop it from going out, though she assures me that it was nothing that would put you or master Harry in a negative light. It seems Fudge is attempting to do some damage control, perhaps he figures if he kisses up to you then you might be more forgiving."

Straightening up Ranma removed the headphones from his head and stood up, placing the Discman on the bed. Cracking his neck to the side Ranma asked, "When's the paper supposed to get here?"

Shuffling some papers and rolling them up Lu answered, "Should be anytime now. The others are all in the drawing room listening to the Wizards Radio Network."

While he did not have a lot of experience listening to music, Ranma really didn't care much for what wizards seemed to listen to for the most part, though some of it seemed ok. So picking up a few CD's and his Discman he casually waved at Lu while making his way over to the door.

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Walking into the drawing room Ranma briefly felt a little nervous as all of the sudden everyone was staring at him. Mistaking their looks for anger over what happened earlier Ranma shuffled his feet, bowed his head apologetically and said, "Ahh… Sorry about earlier, Harry banished my clothes at the Ministry."

Totally missing the faint redness that seemed to be swelling on all the present females' faces Ranma continued, "I just came down to see if anyone had a copy of tonight's paper."

Smiling sweetly from her position on the couch Molly said, "No worry dear, Harry explained everything." Shifting her attention to the device in Ranma's hands she asked, "What do you have there?"

Blinking rapidly a few times Ranma looked down in confusion, until he realized that she was asking about his new Discman. Looking back at her he replied, "It's a Discman." Noting that he was receiving blank stares from everybody except Hermione and Harry he elaborated, "It's sort of like the Wizards Radio Network, cept you get to choose what you listen to. Tonks picked it out… It's pretty neat, back in Nerima I knew a lot of people with them but never had enough money to get one…" Shifting his gaze over to Harry Ranma rubbed the back of his head and said, "Picked one up for you too Harry, but we got to share CD's."

Hearing that Ranma had bought himself a Discman Harry had become slightly jealous as he never had one either, but upon hearing that his brother had picked one up for him as well his smiled brightened and with genuine gratitude he said, "Thanks, Ranma. Where is it?"

Realizing that he had a lot of clothes for his girl form laying on his bed Ranma hesitated and said, "I'll go get it in a few minutes."

Torn between wanting it at that minute and allowing his brother to get comfortable for a bit Harry finally said, "Don't worry about it, you can give it to me tomorrow. Besides the Order will be meeting soon."

Moving over to another couch where Fred and George were sitting talking in hushed tones Ranma sat down.

Fred looking over Ranma's shoulder said, "Too bad that won't work once you go to Hogwarts."

"Huh?" Came Ranma's puzzled reply.

"It's true, Muggle devices don't work at Hogwarts." Chirped George.

Ranma looked down at his new toy morosely as he began to realize that he would not be using it very often, before he could come up with a reply though Fred interrupted his gloomy thoughts with, "Though, you being one of our mates…"

"Perhaps we could do something…"

"No, that would never work…"

Stroking his chin George finalized, "Oh but it will brother o mine."

Noticing the determination in his brothers gaze Fred stood and exclaimed, "Very well, for your gift of instant curse packets, we shall take this quest onto ourselves and ensure that by the start of term, that your muggle devices will work while at Hogwarts."

Raising his hand from where he was sitting while attempting to play Ron at a game of wizard's chess Harry asked, "Umm, hey guy's what about me?"

Dismissing Harry with a wave George added, "And Harry's too."

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A few hours earlier

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Fudge sat back in his chair and gave off a frustrated sigh as he ran over the morning's events in his head. He wondered exactly when he lost control of the situation and endangered his political career.

Ultimately, he figured that things went downhill the moment the eldest Potter returned from the grave. If only he had not returned. He was at a loss as what to do now, he had just gotten a reply back from the Daily Prophet and learned a few interesting facts.

One was that the eldest Potter was going to be claiming his seat on the Hogwarts Board of Governors along with Sirius Black. Another tidbit that he had managed to come across was that this Ranma was going to be teaching at Hogwarts as a group from Jusendo was going to attend and he was needed as their combat instructor. He wasn't sure on what he was going to do now as The-Boy-Who-Lived and his experienced older brother were going to be at school together.

He did have a backup plan to keep the youngest Potter in line, as he planned on sending Undersecretary Umbridge to the school as the DADA teacher, and eventually after some sly maneuvering he was going to position her as the High Inquisitioner so he could clean house and be rid of the thorns in his side once and for all.

He wasn't sure on whether or not He-Whom-Must-Not-Be-Named was really back or not. As far as he was now concerned Lucius had taken a dark mark and was a death eater, but that didn't mean that he was going to go hide in a hole because everyone thought that "He' had returned.

Fidgeting with his Bowler hat's brim Fudge pondered his next step, "_I won't be able to place another teacher at Hogwarts until Umbridge makes her move and that was a few months away. Plus she'll be too busy dealing with the youngest Potter to be much help with the other. Perhaps if I lightened Umbridge's load a bit I could work something out. But if I can't have a teacher then I'm forced to use a student, and right now I'm not sure as to whom I could trust."_

"_Perhaps I can find a young enough Auror to do the Job, I could have him pose as a transfer student into the fifth year class and when he's sorted he can use the Ministry override to place himself into Griffindor. But with all the budget cuts that I have been putting on the Auror corps I'm not even sure if they have any new recruits. Plus unless they have a means to disguise themselves their former classmates would recognize them."_

Breaking out of his thoughts to set down his hat in favor of reaching into his desk and taking out a flask that was filled with firewhiskey, Fudge mused sullenly for a moment staring at his desk where a memo caught his eye.

The memo wasn't anything particularly important, it was about a slight adjustment that he needed to pass along to Wizengamot about a slight alteration in the registration of animegnus.

It was at that moment that certain things began to click together in the stubborn man's mind. Scrolling a quick note he called out, "WEASLEY GET IN HERE, I NEED YOU TO RUN SOMETIHNG DOWN TO THE HEAD AUROR'S OFFICE."

Leaning back at his desk Fudge folded his hands and smiled. The parchment on Animagi had reminded him of one of the Auror corps more valuable assets. Primarily, the only full metamorphmagus in all of Britain, one Nymphadora Tonks.

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Meanwhile in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix meeting was about to begin, and much to Molly's dismay tonight they had a new attendee, one Harry Potter. This was the first full meeting that the young lad had been invited to attend at the behest of his older brother. Molly had hoped that Ranma would have been swayed by her superior logic, that being that Harry was too young. However, much to her dismay, Ranma's argument of, 'he has a crazy bastard out to kill him' was a bit more effective in swaying her thoughts than her own argument.

In addition to Harry, the meeting consisted of Tonks whom had arrived from her flat just as the others were arriving consisting of, Sirius, Arthur, Mundungus Fletcher, Mrs. Figg, Amelia Bones who seemed to be rather distracted by the presence of the older Potter, Bill, Minerva, Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, and Severus Snape.

Looking around from his seat in-between Harry and Tonks, Ranma noticed someone whom he had seen earlier not being there yet. Curiously he asked, "Hey, Where's Remus at?"

Harry leaned up next to Ranma and whispered, "He has a bit of a furry problem and had to leave a little early to set up his accommodations."

Looking back at his brother Ranma was confused, sometimes he wished that people wouldn't assume he knew so much and would be a bit more direct in their answers.

Noticing Ranma's apparent confusion on the matter Tonks leaned over and whispered, "Remus is a werewolf, and once a month goes out to his parents' old cabin to lock himself up so he doesn't accidentally bite someone. Tonight he had to leave early because last time he almost broke the wards that hold him inside so Shacklebolt went with him to help him fix them."

Ranma thought about that for a minute, he had no problems with Remus being a werewolf, it was another part of what Tonks had said that got his attention, once a month. He had been feeling itchy all day long and as the evening went on he was getting agitated. It was nothing that he couldn't keep under wraps as it only showed if someone caused him to become unhinged. But the fact that he was having the feeling meant one thing and one thing only.

He was about to have his monthly visitor and would be locked in female form until it subsided. Slamming the palm of his hand into his forehead Ranma caused those near him to jump slightly.

With concern in his voice for his older brother and hoping that he didn't have anything against Remus for being a werewolf Harry asked, "What's wrong? You're not upset that Remus is a werewolf are you?"

Noticing that all eyes were now on him Ranma stuttered, "Ahh.. no.. Not at all, I just realized though that I need to leave tonight for a few days and I forgot to tell Lu about it and he left for a meeting and won't be back until after I leave."

Several people blinked at Ranma's explanation, and to Harry it seemed a bit fishy.

Tonks on the other hand was curious, Ranma hadn't mentioned anything about having to leave earlier and had even said that they could go out to and catch a muggle movie the day after tomorrow. Looking over at the pigtailed martial artist/sorcerer she raised an eyebrow, to which he answered by silently mouthing, "Later."

Looking over at the new clock along the wall Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "Now that we have taken care of certain issues." His ever twinkling eyes seemed to bore into Ranma with that remark before he shifted his gaze and continued, "I am sure you all know Harry here. His brother has insisted that he attend these meetings as his life is seemly intertwined with Tom's." Ignoring the gasps of superstitious surprise at his ability to talk about the Dark Lord so informally he went on to say, "Severus here has a report to make as there was an emergency death eater meeting earlier today after the apprehension of Mr. Malfoy."

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Lord Voldemort was staring at several parchments strewn across his desk and having a hard time focusing on them. There was something bothering him, he had not been able to enter the Potter brat's mind for several days and that was not good news. Perhaps he should talk to Snape to see if the Potions Master could talk the old fool into forcing the brat to learn Occlumency with Snape as the teacher. Then it would just be a matter of breaking down the brat's mind.

He needed the brat to get a hold of the Prophesy so he would know how to prevent it, after all there was nothing that was beyond his power. But if his access to the brat's mind was cut off then he would have to figure out another means to get a hold of it.

Shuffling through various parchments that held a wide range of reports, ranging from recruitment updates to demands from various dark creatures that would ally themselves with him for a price, he almost missed the shocked look on Wormtail's face as he came crashing frantically through the door.

Not amused at the impromptu interruption the Dark Lord raised his wand and simply said, "CRUCIO." With a bemused expression he watched as Wormtail thrashed wildly on the floor in pain.

The art of inflicting pain was particularly difficult art to master. It required a deft/skilled touch, too much and you risk frying the mind, and too little, and the subjects are able to build up a resistance. So after a few minutes under his watchful gaze Voldemort released the pain causing curse and waited for Wormtail to recover enough to explain his intrusion.

Gasping in an attempt to bring air into his abused lungs Wormtail stammered as he forced himself to his knees. "Maaaassssttteerrr, news just came in from our agent within the Ministry."

Fingering his wand in an obvious attempt to show the pathetic wizard at his feet his impatience Voldemort hissed, "Out with it Wormtail, I don't have all day to sit here with you sniveling at my feet."

Taking in a few more deep breaths in an attempt to calm his abused body as Voldemort fingered his wand Wormtail attempted to straighten himself out and said, "After Potter's hearing Lucius reportably attacked Harry but was thwarted by an third party who dueled with him and defeated him with ease."

Setting his wand down on top of the desk, Voldemort stroked his long scaly fingers across his chin and asked thoughtfully, "Do we know whom this mysterious third party is?"

Nervously Wormtail replied, "Master, they said that it was Harry's brother."

Tilting his head slightly to the side Voldemort managed to get out a curious, "Oh? But that's impossible seeing that you disposed of the brat years ago. What does Severus have to say seeing that he is supposed to be our inside man and would have informed me if something such as this occurred."

"I don't know Master."

Inching his hand over to his wand Voldemort calmly said, "Well, it would seem that perhaps you should find out. Ready the conference room, I need to find out the validity of these rumors."

As Wormtail scurried to his feet Voldemort added, "Just one thing though Wormtail, I will not tolerate failure… CRUCIO."

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Rising to his feet Snape scowled at the two high and mighty Potters and said, "Thanks to the rash actions of certain unnamed individuals, whom lack any form of self control and are more concerned with flexing their pride and flexing their disregard for public safety…"

"WHAT? If you got a problem with me you say it to my face and stop trying to hide behind a bunch of flashy words." Ranma raged as he half rose out of his seat.

"Hit a nerve did I?"

Attempting to get the conversation back onto course Albus raised his hand and said, "That is quite enough Severus, what happened at the ministry was a good thing. A death eater was exposed and now the Ministry has to acknowledge that Tom has returned."

"Yes we should all charge in with our heads held high and pick fights within the halls of the Ministry." Severus snapped at the headmaster.

"Now Severus, I know that today has taken its toll on you but you are out of line." Albus stated calmly.

With a snort Severus stated, "You coddle them Albus, they need to know that flying off the handle like they did today at the Ministry will not be tolerated. One can not go through life bullheaded and picking fights with everyone they run across."

Standing up from his chair Ranma immersed himself into the soul of ice so as to keep his temporarily unbalanced temper from lashing out more than what it was already and stated, "He pulled his wand on Harry. I will not tolerate anyone no matter where or who they are attacking my brother. I did what I know was the right thing and who are you to question that, especially when you weren't even there."

Growling back at Ranma Snape sneered condescendingly, "I am your elder boy and with age comes the experience to know when and where are appropriate places to act."

"Oh and tell me what type of vast experiences a git can get from sniffing chemicals in a basement all day? Besides getting all dazed and confused." Ranma fired back.

"Any wizard can toss magic about but Potion making is a tedious and hazardous art that takes years to master. With a simple potion I can dissolve your body to nothingness or give myself the strength of twenty men." Snape defended.

Ignoring the hypocrisy Ranma fumed, one thing he couldn't stand was others making light of his abilities, he sacrificed a lot to get where he was. Placing both palms down on the table he leaned forward and stated, "Back in China there's an old Amazon proverb, It goes, "Those that can do magic… "

"Do… "

"Those that can't."

"Make potions."

Wincing slightly Severus straightened his posture, the wince was not from Ranma's verbal assault though, no it was the remnants of being exposed to multiple Crucios earlier that day when the Dark Lord found out that he had been holding back information. Knowing that he was nearing the point of pulling wands he was hit with a momentarily flash of common sense and said, "If not for the fact that I was used for target practice by the Dark Lord and his unforgivables, I would gladly show you my magic."

Shooting a quick look at Harry Ranma mouthed, "Unforgivables?"

Harry was torn between shaking his head and applauding his older brother, instead though he answered the question and said, "There are three unforgivable curses. Seeing that he is still alive and he does seem to be in control of himself you can probably rule out the Imperius and the killing curse. The other one is called the Cruciatus curse, when cast correctly it causes overwhelming pain on its victim." Upon finishing his almost text like answer Harry shot a glance to Mr. Moody who seemed to almost nod in approval.

Snorting Ranma mocked, "So it's a little pain causing curse. Phea, you want real pain try having multiple fiancees who don't take no for an answer."

Reaching for his wand Snape said, "I've had about enough of your cheek, boy."

Without thinking and letting his temper get the better of him Ranma fired off in Japanese, "Kono kusottare jiji. 4" Pushing his chair back Ranma pointed to the door to the basement where his training area was set up and said in english, "You want to settle this? Then let's go downstairs."

Shaking his head in frustration over the fact that the meeting had degenerated from a verbal pissing match to a duel in less time than it takes for the Minister of Magic to jump to conclusions, Albus Dumbledore sighed and using the power of a voice with 150 years of experience said, "Both of you sit down, we are at a meeting. The least you can do is act professional and not allow your dislikes for each other to get in the way of what is important."

Snape with his hand itching to grasp the familiar wood of his wand continued to glare at Ranma.

Ranma shook his head after Dumbledore finished speaking, Lu had warned him and he knew better. Especially when he was feeling the way he was. Bowing his head shamefully he said, "Forgive me for my outburst Professor Dumbledore. I do not think that much will be accomplished if I stay for this meeting, Harry can take some notes and inform me later." Turning an icy gaze at Snape Ranma continued, "As for you, make no mistake, the only reason I am leaving is so this meeting can take place. We'll finish this later and I suggest you do some serous training cause I plan on hurting you… Badly."

With his piece said, Ranma offered one final bow before he turned on his heels and left the room.

Harry was about to rise out of his seat and follow his brother, as he was more concerned about his brother than whatever news the meeting was going to reveal, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking over to his side he saw Tonks already standing up.

Smiling down at Harry, Tonks said, "You just stay here Harry, I'll go check up on Ranma."

"Uhm, okay Tonks, if you're sure?"

"Course I am Harry, sides your brother arranged this for you to keep you in the loop." Giving off a casual wave to the assembled members and a scowl at the Potions professor Tonks left the room.

Sirius slumped in his seat, he had been hoping that the greasy prat would get what was coming to him and was slightly put off that nothing happened. That is until he realized that Remus wasn't there to share the event with him. "_Perhaps I can talk Ranma into setting a date for the duel, that way Remus can watch too."_

Molly and Amelia were also slightly put off, though their reason was a bit different in nature from the others as both of them were torn between getting the meeting over with or getting Ranma to take off his shirt. After all, it looked like a new shirt and it wouldn't due for it to get damaged in a duel.

Though in Molly's defense, the foundation for a healthy marriage requires a good imagination, and sometimes that needs a visual aide.

Severus slinked back down into his seat, while the day had started off as a bad one. With Lucius's arrest and Voldemort finding out that he was withholding information from him. Truth be told though he had no idea on why he had not reported anything about the plans for the trial. But now thanks to the elder brat losing his composure he now had a powerful weapon for his master to use against him, it seems deep down in the brat's mind he is terrified of cats.

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Mindful of his strength Ranma made his way up the stairs, he was upset with himself over losing it like he had and consequently monitor his strength to ensure that he didn't damage his surroundings. He knew though that no matter what he told Lu, the man that had become a mentor, friend, almost father figure to him, that he would be upset with him as well and letting Lu down was making him feel even worse.

As he made his way to his room though he also figured it was inevitable that something like this would happen and Lu knew the effects that his former curse still had over him. Shuffling through his bags that were still placed on his bed Ranma dug out Harry's Discman and walkman, after placing a few tapes and cd's in a pile he gathered them up and made his way over to Harry's room.

Noting from his senses that there were several people in the room, most likely: Ron, the Twins, Hermione, and Ginny, Ranma groaned. He really wasn't in the mood to risk ticking off anyone else as he was fairly certain that a lot of people were upset at his uncontrolled outburst. Knocking at the door Ranma waited until he heard, what he guessed was Ron's voice, tell him to enter.

Stepping into the room he noticed that Ron was the only one visible in the room, thankful that the others were hiding, probably under Harry's invisibility cloak, Ranma said, "Just dropping off Harry's new Discman and Walkman."

"Thought you were going to give them to him tomorrow?" Chirped Ron as he scrambled over to take a closer look at the items.

Not wanting to get into a long conversation Ranma turned and started walking out of the room, over his shoulder he grumbled, "Can't, leaving for a few days." Then he carelessly mumbled, "Stupid time of the month."

As the door closed and Ranma's footsteps made their way down the hall, a shimmering cloth slid off two girls and two redheads popped their heads out from underneath the beds.

Looking over everyone with wide-open eyes, Hermione exclaimed, "Did you hear that?"

While the twins looked at her expectantly and Ron gave her a puzzled look, Ginny clarified, "What Ranma said as he walked out the door."

With a snort Ron replied, "Jeeze a guy has to take a trip for a few days and you girls act like he's off on some secret mission."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms shooting Ron an annoyed look and factually stated, "For one thing Ronald, he's not just taking a trip. He's leaving for a few day's. There's a difference."

The twins having plopped themselves on Harry's bed teased, "Yeah Ronald, there's a difference. You git."

Continuing without his brother Fred went on, "You really need to learn to listen to your girlfriend."

"HE'S/SHE'S NOT MY/GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND"

Slightly agitated from the twin's teasing Hermione glared at the two before continuing, "Anyway, after he said he was leaving for a few days, he said and I quote, "Stupid time of the month." Do you know what that means?"

Snorting Ron grumbled, "That he gets as batty as you girls do..." Ron let his voice trail off as he realized what he had said..

Both girls jaws dropped at the obvious slam on their gender as the twins ducked for cover.

Hermione turned her head to face Ginny and both girls shared a look that seemed to convey some sort of telepathy between the two. After a few minutes of silence they turned their attention back to Ron and sweetly chirped, "No Ronald, you are soo silly sometimes. No what Ranma said combined with the fact that Remus left as well can only mean one thing."

Breaking away from the double speak Hermione finished, "And one thing only…" Pausing for dramatic affect she finished, "Ranma is a werewolf."

Ron burst out laughing and struggled to get out, "Blimey… That's… Rich… He's… Gotta.. Be the… First… Werewolf… In… History… To be afraid… Of cats."

The twins looked over a their well-meaning but sometimes asinine brother with a look of utter shock. Turning their gaze to the two girls in the room they shared a look. One that said Ron will pay.

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Stepping back into the relative safety of his room Ranma paused mid step, Tonks was waiting for him sitting on his bed.

"Sooo, What's going on?"

Ranma shuffled slightly as he closed the door and cast a spell to keep eavesdroppers at bay.

Deciding to be evasive to see what exactly she wanted to know Ranma made his way over to the bed and began sorting the clothes into two piles, one that he was going to bring with her and another that she was going to lock in the closet. As he began to sort Ranma asked, "What do you mean?"

Ignoring Ranma's attempts at evasiveness Tonks clarified, "Weeeell, for starters, why are you sorting all your girl clothes into two piles?"

"Need them for the next few day's"

Holding up a lacey blue silk nightgown Tonks raised an eyebrow and said, "And you need this because?"

Looking at Tonks like the answer was obvious Ranma stated, "It's comfortable."

"Okay, I can understand that." Tonks reasoned and added, "Why?"

"It's sort of embarrassing."

"_Okay, plan A isn't working… Time for plan B."_ Switching the topic Tonks asked, "Sooo, you almost lost it down there…" "Wanna tell me why?"

Ranma sighed and replied, "Not really… But I guess I should explain it to someone before Lu tears into me."

"_Now we're getting somewhere."_ Tonks thought.

"I have a condition cause of my curse."

"Yeah you turn into a girl, I know that already." Tonks supplied.

Sighing as he moved over to his closet he continued, "Well, you know when I'm a girl… I am full girl, right?"

Tonks shook her head and asked, "You said you get the parts… You mean… All the parts?"

Nodding his head Ranma said, "Yeah, the whole shebang. Monthly visitor and all."

Tonk's eyes widened. She had wondered and even somewhat expected it but to actually hear it from the horse's mouth so to speak, well it was a bit overwhelming. Realization dawning on her she said, "But right now you're a guy. You are a guy… Right?"

"Technically for the next few hours anyway."

"How do you know? You know… That it is that time."

Ranma shrugged and replied, "It's part of the curse… Or so I've been told. Right before it's that time when I'm in my male form I begin to feel.. Itchy… I guess is as good as term as any. Anyway along with the itchiness I tend to get a little unhinged and loose a lot of control of my emotions and it gets stronger until I change into my girl form…"

Curious Tonks asked, "What happens if you don't change?"

"Well… If I don't change myself or with water, eventually the curse will just activate and the cramps and everything will be almost unbearable and sometimes I'll be locked for as long as two more days with the cramps and bloating. If I manage to hold off a bit and deal with the itchiness and mood swings then it depends… I'm not sure how it works and I asked the old ghoul about it, she told me that the curse is not without pity and has a conscience so to speak that can tell if you make a general effort to change or not."

Sitting down with a sigh Ranma continued, "Sometimes it goes easier, sometimes not. But if I manage to stay in my girl form long enough for no warning to occur when I'm male then I generally have a fairly easy time with it, cause all the symptoms seem muted or something."

Tonks nodded, in a bizarre way it made sense. Grinning at the opportunity that was presenting itself she asked, "So, where you gonna stay?"

"Don't know. Usually I take off on a short training trip, that way no one ever knows unless I tell them."

Putting her arm around Ranma's should Tonks said, "I just had the most brilliant idea."

"If it involves sacrificing three chickens and a hamster, don't bother… Pops… Err Genma already tried that." Ranma deadpanned.

Looking at Ranma oddly as if to test whether or not he was joking Tonks decided to go the safe route and replied, "I don't want to know."

"Seemingly in a better mood Ranma chirped, "You sure? It's actually pretty funny…"

"I said, I don't want to know." Tonks reinforced while shooting Ranma a challenging glare. Shifting her attitude into its more usual chipper self Tonks said, "I was thinking that you could come over and stay at my flat with me."

Slightly nervous at the prospect of staying over at Tonks' place without anyone else there Ranma paused briefly before asking, "You sure you have enough room?"

Getting off the Bed Tonks winked and said, "I've seen your girl form before, my bed's just big enough for the two of us." Not giving Ranma a chance to object she added, "Now hurry up, the sooner you change the easier it will be on you."

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It was early in the morning by the time he reached his destination; the meeting had not been too long. No what had kept him delayed was the subsequent trip back to Hogwarts to sit in the headmaster's office and be lectured like some little fresh out of diapers snot nosed brat.

He sneered darkly into the distance, oh how he hated the game that he played, but he hated the newest Potter Brat more. He would take great pleasure when the punk finally got what he deserved. Hell, on that day Severus would find James Potters grave and dance on it. For no other reason than to gloat out of spite.

Walking down the darkened path he made his way into his masters hide out. Upon opening the door he paused briefly to give the pathetic Wormtail a disgusted look. Sure he may be a fellow death eater but the man was pathetic, turning on those whom accepted him to one whom thought of him as a joke.

Stepping into the doorway that lead into his masters office he paused and lowered his head, waiting to be recognized.

"Enter Severus." Hissed Voldemort.

Taking several steps forward he stopped just a few feet away from his masters desk and said, "My Lord, I have discovered a rather potent weakness that the eldest Potter child has attempted to keep hidden from me."

Temporarily letting go of the fact that the Potions instructor was late Voldemort's face twisted into an amused grin as he said, "Do tell."

"It appears that he has a rather potent fear of felines, my Lord."

Voldemort looked at the greasy man like he was insane for even suggesting such a thing. As his hand crept across his desk to grasp his wand Snape continued, "I assure you that the terror is real, never before have I felt a fear greater than what I felt when I looked into his mind.

Letting his hand stop just millimeters away from his wand Voldemort Hissed, "You best be right on this matter as I have had enough of failure within my ranks."

Considering his next words briefly Voldemort stated, "We will make our move on Azkaban earlier than planned, be prepared on September 13th."

"Yes my Lord."

"I have yet to decide whom will accompany me when we raid the Prison, Those that are not accompanying me will find themselves distracting the Aurors… I think that I will sit on this so-called great terror of Ranma Potter's for the moment. Perhaps we should use our distraction to our advantage."

"My Lord?"

"We shall kill two birds with one stone so to speak, our little distraction shall serve two objectives. One part will to be to distract the Aurors from reinforcing Azkaban, while the other will lure Ranma Potter to his death."

Chuckling softly he added, "Yes… Yes… That shall work nicely. I think that perhaps we will utilize one or more of the new alliances that I have forged recently. We shall see exactly what this so-called Warmaster is capable of." Waving his hand to dismiss Snape, Voldemort paused and added, "One more thing, Severus…"

Picking up his wand he finished, "You were late and I do not appreciate tardiness… CRUCIO…"

Notes:

Why wasn't Snape able to tell Tommy boy about Ranma? Hmm, perhaps there is a good reason.

1….. Ranma is sort of an exobistionest at times as he runs around in girl form half dressed. Probably due to the fact that he was raised in the woods and consequently has no upper body modesty and little lower modesty

2… I'm sure that those of you whom remember Discmans were garbage compared to today.

3----- Don't worry I will explain why Tonks knows about Muggle music, eventually

4----- shitty old goat


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own either series covered in this fic.

Many thanks to James Axelrad for his help.

Oh and if you like Harry Potter fics, I have a Harry Potter SG1 fic that I Just released another chapter to a few days ago, though I'll be honest I am currently working on fixing the errors thanks

Brother's united chapter 10

Ranma sat huddled on the couch, her knees pulled up into her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. Her eyes were focused on the crackling static of the Television, the channel, showing that either the channel had stopped broadcasting or the antenna needed adjusting. But that didn't matter to the current redheaded girl as all she was doing was keeping her mind occupied and focused on something other than the current discomfort she was feeling with her body.

Luckily though, her symptoms were not as bad as what they had been on occasions in the past and especially right after becoming inflicted with the curse. She wanted to think that perhaps the symptoms lessened with the acceptance she gained from having a measure of control.

Fact is, she probably could have come to terms with the curse sooner if it had not been for her visitor, though she surmised it wouldn't have been much of a curse without it because at least she stayed human.

All that aside, the primary reason she was on the couch as opposed to the bed was the fact that in Tonks one bedroom flat, there was only one bed and it was a single. It's not that Ranma minded the couch; it was better than the floor. Especially considering that since by the looks of it Tonks hadn't swept or mopped it since she moved in, that along with the piles of dirty clothes and various other clutter that Ranma didn't want to think about being strewn about in a chaotic mess.

Ranma had asked why Tonks didn't use her magic to clean it up when she first arrived. Tonks answer had been rather complicated, but Ranma understood the jist of it. That being that her father being muggleborn didn't like shortcuts on responsibility and always forbade her from using it to clean up messes. Now that she was no longer at home she had seemed to grown an overall aversion to cleaning in general. Well at least Tonks didn't leave dirty dishes all over the place and that her mess was mostly dirty clothes.

Ranma winced as her concentration wavered, she had been there for two days and while not the worst symptoms she had had they were far from being comfortable. She could deal with the bleeding but the general discomfort was overwhelming.

Sighing to herself she thought, "_It could be worse, I could still be in Nerima and have to go on a short training trip to get away from everyone."_

In the past Ranma had gone through great lengths to keep the secret on how complete the curse actually was, the only person who really knew had been Genma and the school nurse, though she supposed that Kasumi suspected something as there were times where Ranma had to barrow some supplies from the hall closet. Thankfully though that had ended rather quickly once the school nurse had caught her, him at the time, stuffing a number of hygiene products into his pocket during one of his many trips to the nurses office to take care of various scrapes and bruises that happened from some of his more vicious fights at school, not to mention the times that he had wound up unconscious due to his habitual foot in mouth syndrome.

Genma finding out had been embarrassing; they had still been in china and were on the run from a crazy Amazon, whom later turned out to be Shampoo. It had been along day and weather had forced her into the form the previous night and ensured that she stayed that way until they broke for camp the next day. It was on that day after the torrential downpour that left her soggy and female for the entire day's journey that she found out she couldn't change back. Ranma had become hysterical at that point and for the first time in a long while had broken down into tears. The situation was made worse by the fact that when she had been forced to go relieve herself in female form, something she had avoided like the plague before that day, she had discovered that she was bleeding.

Her terrified scream had been heard for miles and probably constituted the reason on why shampoo had found them early the next morning. Her scream had brought Genma running in what Ranma then supposed as some level of parental concern, though now she just figured that at that point he still needed her for his own plans. Upon his arrival and after finding out what the fuss was Genma just said, "It's natural, get over it… When it's done you'll probably be able to turn back." And with that Genma just walked back to camp and went to sleep. There had been no explanation, no hug (though Ranma would deny wanting one), no concern. Just cold hard words that left Ranma to figure out things for herself.

"W'otcher, Ranma."

Wincing and moaning at the loss of her concentration Ranma turned to face her temporary roommate. Not really meaning too she snapped, "What."

Instead of looking offended Tonks gave her a bemused grin and replied, "Well somebody's in a rather foul mood today."

Ranma blushed from her position on the couch, another one of the drawbacks she hated was that her moods tended to lash out more so than normal, she didn't know how normal woman dealt with this and had never had the courage to ask one, as back in Nerima the question would have caused no end of grief. Attempting to apologize Ranma stared down at her feet and said, "Ah, I'm sorry Tonks. It's just I'm always a bit on edge when I'm like this." Then muttering to herself she said, "Don't see how you women deal with this… Stupid curse."

Tonks held back a giggle after hearing Ranma's mutter and took a seat next to her. Being careful to not come across as too strong, she gave the younger girl's shoulders a squeeze and joked, "Ah come on… could be worse."

Ranma rolled her eyes, she couldn't think of anything worse than being a guy and having to go through with this every month, but deciding to indulge Tonks she asked, "How so?"

Tonks shrugged, leaving her arm draped around the redhead and said, "You could be pregnant."

Ranma blanched, while she had never shown it she did have normal fantasies that every teenager had back in Nerima, it's just to act on them would had lead to any number of bad situations, marriage being on top of that list. Though soon after starting school and dealing with the jerks in gym class that liked to use cold water in exchange for a free show, those had tapered off to a large degree. After that and a few weeks of Kuno's attention had slowly started turning what were once good dreams into the worse of nightmares.

"Don't even joke like that!" Ranma hissed angrily.

"Relax there red, I was just joking." Tonks replied trying to placate the red heads temper.

After a minute of tense silence Tonks removed her arm from around Ranma's shoulder and said, "I just came out her because I noticed that you haven't been taking anything to help."

Eyeing the pink haired woman evenly Ranma asked, "What would I take? I already got pads and all they do is keep me from making a mess. Then a hopeful look spread across Ranma's face as she asked, "Don't tell me there is some sort of magical cure."

Tonks shook her head destroying the younger girls hope and said, "Unfortunately not… Though now that I think about it, I wonder why there isn't"

Crestfallen Ranma sank her head down, where it was now resting on the top of her knees and asked, "So what can I take?"

Breaking out of her musings on why no one has made a magical cure Tonks said, "Ah right, almost forgot." Taking a bottle out her pocket she added, "Take two of these and you'll feel a lot better in no time."

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While Ranma was discovering the joy's of Midol, across London deep within the Ministry of Magic another meaningful conversation was about to take place.

Lucius Malfoy was in a rather foul mood, he had been cooped up in a bare room unable to leave for at least two days though it could have been longer as the only evidence of time passing he had was the arrival of his daily meals. To further add to his growing impatience, he had yet to be examined by a healer and was still in a lot of pain, as all his wounds had just been treated but not healed.

Wincing as he sat up from the bed he prepared himself to walk up to the door and pound on it until someone answered, he had been doing it sporadically once he realized that no one was checking up on him and that his meals were being delivered magically.

Struggling to his feet he let out a curse and vowed that once he got out of there he was going to have the entire board of Saint Mungo's sacked as it was inexcusable for someone of his station to be forced to wait

Feeling a bit of vertigo wash over him he stumbled and fell back on the bed. Determined to get some sort of answer as to why he was being given such deplorable treatment he started to force himself off the bed once more but stopped as he heard noises coming from the door.

So instead of rising to his feet Lucius steeled himself on the bed, preparing to lay into whomever was finally getting around to his care.

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Sun Lu had had a busy two-day's; first he had taken care of giving the press releases on what he had decided to let the public know about Ranma with the new editor of the Daily Prophet. Then he had spent the rest of the time talking to the Minister of Magical Law enforcement in an effort to get himself cleared for questioning Lucius Malfoy, as it had been part of the deal that they had made in return for the three kingdoms assistance in the upcoming war.

Madame Bones had been more than willing to offer him access but unfortunately Minister Fudge had been holding up on granting him clearance. Fortunately it was nothing that several well placed threats could not overcome, as all Lu had needed to do was kindly remind the minister of the benefits of international cooperation. Though Lu had wondered if the man was incompetent or just did not realize whom was holding the better hand. In the end though Fudge relented and two days later Lu finally had access to the prisoner and in a showing of good faith Madame Bones even had withheld questioning on her Aurors part until after Lu had a chance to question the man.

Lu smiled to himself as he approached the door, while he could use any number of truth potions to get the answers he wanted, he preferred using his own means as truth serums would only get vague answers that he would have to expand upon to get what he needed. However with his methods, he would get all his questions answered and more so. Plus in his own mind he felt that death eaters deserved what they had coming to them so he would have no mercy. Unfortunately with the amount of magic in the air at the Ministry his car battery and jumper cables would be useless silently musing to himself he thought, "_If the twins can get Master Ranma's Discman to work at Hogwarts then perhaps I'll have them take a look at my tools as well_."

Shaking his head he wondered why so many wizards had it in for muggles, they were far more creative than the average wizard, unless the wizard was a Weasley, and a lot of their methods while taking longer worked just as well if not better.

Nodding to the Auror whom was currently unlocking the door to the cell Lu put on his game face, as it would hardly due for the prisoner to get the wrong idea.

Stepping into the room he noticed that Mr. Malfoy seemed about ready to launch into a verbal tirade. Shaking his head Lu thought, "_That would hardly do, he needs to be made aware of his place."_ With a wave of his hand he silenced the irate man and said, "In case you can't tell I just put a silencing charm on you to ensure that you do not interrupt me." Noting that the man seemed to be turning a rather potent red in the face and seemed to be struggling to his feet Lu said, "Now none of that…" With another wave of his hand he forced the disheveled man to sit down strait with his hands on his knees and back strait.

Nodding in approval at his spell work Lu said, "Now that I have your attention, my name is Sun Lu. I am Warmaster Potter's chief aide and assistant as well as his temporary head of security with responsibilities to both Mater Ranma and his brother Harry." Unflinching under the sharp glare he was being given Lu continued, "Incase you were wondering where you are… You are currently in one of the Ministry's holding cells in the lower level of the Ministry of Magic. You have been charged with attempted assault and assassination of a foreign dignitary as well as having the Dark Mark, making you one of Voldemort's followers."

Lu was not a bad man, nor a bad former house elf turned man. However because of his experiences among the Amazon Nation and a few of his former masters when he had been a house elf, well there were times that his general nice and seemly non hostile demeanor changed. Lu had also always taken his responsibilities serous and dedicated himself fully to them. With his recent dedication to Ranma and his brother Lu took his position seriously and would use whatever means necessary to satisfy his lord's safety. Unfortunately for Mr. Malfoy this meant that he was about to see a side of Sun Lu that not even Ranma was yet aware of. Waving his hand once more Lu transfigured the bed that Lucius was sitting on into a large desk.

Smiling at his handiwork and noting that his magic reserves still had plenty of juice in them so he decided to conger up a nice comfortable seat for himself as he had heard somewhere that the key to a good interrogation had something to do with personal comfort.

Taking his seat he banished Mr. Malfoy's pants and said, "Normally someone would probably give you some sort of truth serum… Well I am not in the mood for games and do not feel like having to figure out the correct questions to ask you. So I'm just going to have to show you how serous I am…"

Grinning evilly he continued, "And since it is just you…"

Leaning closer he added, "Me…"

Turning his narrow smile into a wide grin he said, "Your Balls…"

Reaching out with his magic he animated part of the desk and smirked out, "And this drawer…"

---SLAM---

Lu held back his wince, and thought, "_That had looked like it hurt_." Glad that he had the foresight to put a silencing charm on the probably now screaming man, Lu reached into his jacket pocket. It was going to be a long night while he waited for the drawer to do its job, plus his magic not being human in origin needed to recharge a bit so he might as well get comfortable.

Lu almost snapped his fingers; he had forgot to finish his last sentience to the Death eater, "_Oh well."_ He thought, "_It's not like he can really hear me now. I'll just have to wait until later."_

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Across town, in another part of London.

Hermione Granger sat in the room she was currently sharing at number 12 Grimmauld place deep in thought. She had just finished writing another essay for SPEW; this time she had concrete information about house elves and why they enjoy being servants. She had gotten the information from Mr. Sun and had no doubts about its reliability as she was aware that the man was a former house elf himself.

Actually most of the residents at 12 Grimmauld place knew. The reason on how they knew is that Sun Lu did not have a wand. That in its self was not entirely special, as Ranma did not need a wand to cast magic either, but there was a difference. When Ranma used magic there was a sign of a sorts showing that he was building up power to cast a spell, they varied: his eyes glowing, if he was attempting to cast quietly, to an incantation if he was casting verbally, and sometimes there were hand movements where his hands would glow brightly before unleashing the spell.

However when Mr. Sun casts a spell there was nothing. He could do it with the smallest of movements, or just a thought. When she was curious to know how as she figured it was a useful skill and didn't want to impose upon Ranma taking away time from him and Harry getting to know each other, Lu had told her that he used to be a house elf so his magic was different. However, Lu had also told her that he would talk to Ranma and se if he would be willing to sponsor a club once school started that way all who would be interested would get a chance.

She was about to go over her essay when there was a knock at he door. Putting the quill down she called out, "Come in."

Two figures entered the room, the first one was Ginny, her current roommate and following closely behind her was Harry. Hermione sighed to herself, what she was about to do wasn't easy but it had to be done. She along with the others had figured out that Ranma was cursed into becoming a werewolf, as that was the only possible explanation with the facts that they had. She wasn't certain as to how Harry would take it though, she reasoned that he would take it in stride just as he had with Professor Lupin but she wasn't sure. Motioning him over to the bed she said, "Harry, Ginny and I have something that we need to tell you."

Making himself as comfortable as he could in the presence of the two girls Harry cautiously asked, "What's that?" It was not that he didn't trust Hermione, but due to him getting to know Ranma better, he had come across some interesting facts, and if his brother was to believed then, no women are safe from the Potter charms. It was really a bummer when he thought about it as he did not want to lose his current friendships just because he was totally irresistible, though he reasoned that he could do worse than Ginny. Hearing Hermione say something, Harry broke himself out of his musings and asked, "You say something Hermione?"

Hermione sighed, exasperated at the fact that Harry had not been listening to her she huffed, "Honestly Harry, can't you pay attention just for a few minutes. I'm trying to tell you something important."

"_Here it comes." _Thought Harry, "_She's going to tell me that her and Ginny are in love with me and because of that they can no longer be friends as there can only be one that is allowed to be with me."_ Apologizing over his previous lack of attention he said, "I'm sorry Hermione, I was just thinking about something Ranma had said."

Satisfied that she had chastised Harry enough Hermione continued, "That's okay Harry, Now the reason I needed to talk to you is that Ranma let something slip before he left and we figured that you needed to know."

Harry nodded, he really didn't know what this had to do with confessing undying love but he would humor her."

Noticing that she still had Harry's attention she decided to get it over with and just be blunt. Taking in a deep sigh Hermione stated, "Harry, Ranma is a werewolf."

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Upstairs from where Harry was finding out the secret truths about his brother, Fred and George were currently laughing there collective assess off. After several days of hard work they had come up with a prank to pull on their younger brother Ron for his being an insensitive arse about Ranma's fear of cats. Truthfully though the prank that they were currently pulling had not been prepared especially for Ron, he was just the current guinea pig for it.

See after the two twins had been pranked by Ranma and been forced to spend the day as girls wearing copies of their sisters sleepwear, they had went to Ranma with the intention of finding out how he had did it. Well after a brief discussion and a promise not to use what they develop on him they had walked away with several packets of what they called transfiguration powder. Sure that was not what it was actually called but in a general term that is exactly what it was, it's just the actual Chinese names were a bit too hard for them to pronounce.

After a bit of trail and error they had managed to break the powder down into it's base components and figure out different means to use them. What they had done to Ron is taken one of his shirts, and poured a new potion whose main ingredient was transfiguration powder. Then they cast several charms on the shirt, most of which were memory charms and then put the shirt back into Ron's trunk for him to wear.

Currently they were watching the end results of their labor, as Ron had decided to wear the shirt. Among the many things the shirt now does is give the wearer a very feminine torso with extremely large breasts. The magic doesn't stop there though, in addition to the womanly curves there is; a charms that keeps the changes hidden from the wearer to where he has to have the fact that he has boobs pointed out before he realizes that he has them, Also there is a memory charm that every time he goes to take off the shirt with the knowledge that he has breasts, he instantly forgets when ever his hands touch the bottom hem.

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Hearing a laughter coming from the twins room Sirius decided that grabbing a drink could wait a few minutes and knocked at the door before stepping in. Blinking he attempted to make sense out of the sight before him. Fred and George were rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter, but the shocking part was Ron. He was standing there with his hands on hips scowling while sporting the largest knockers he had ever seen. TO add to that effect the shirt he was wearing was skintight and reflecting the fact that he wasn't wearing a bra.

"What's so funny you gits" Asked a red faced Ron.

Sirius blinked, rubbing his eyes he realized that he must be witnessing some sort of prank and decided to have a bit of fun. Clearing his throat he waited until every one was composed and had their eyes on him and asked, "Feeling a bit top heavy Ron?"

Ron looked down at his shirt for a second and paused before he shrieked, "Blimey you gits I got boobs." As he said that his hands wandered down to take off the shirt but he stopped just as he touched the bottom hem and asked, "Why was I going to take off my shirt, it's too cold in here to walk around with out one."

Looking closer Sirius blinked again, it seemed warm enough for him but according to Ron's new hardware it must be freezing out as he was sporting the largest rock hard nipples he had ever seen. Due to Ron's flip flop decision to not take off his shirt Sirius started to comprehend the prank and was barely able to hold himself together when he said, "I believe you were going to take off your shirt because you just found out that you have knockers that would make most women jealous."

Ron blinked for a moment looked down and said, "Blimey, look at that…"

"I seem to have spilled something on my favorite shirt." He finished after taking his hands off of the lower hem and attempting to brush off an unseen spot.

Sirius couldn't help it; he burst out laughing as he made his way out of the door. He had probably seen the most creative use of memory charms that he had ever seen.

Noticing the state that Sirius left the room in Ron asked, "Hey Fred, what's wrong with him."

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Somewhere in a hidden location, Lord Voldemort sat at his desk in his borrowed study contemplating his nefarious plans. Everything had to be reworked now as new players have entered the game and he knew that unless he took them out fairly quick most of his plans would go up in smoke.

Crumbling up the previous days issue of the Daily Prophet, the former Tom Riddle threw it into the waste bin in a fit of rage and thought, "_That fool Wormtail. I gave him an easy assignment to join our ranks all those years ago… And he bungles it… I would kill him if it would make a difference; unfortunately I still have need for the fat rat. All my plans are ruined now. I can not afford to take my time, this Ranma Potter has too much power at his disposal."_

A cruel smirk began to form as Voldemort began to shape together a new plan. He knew that Harry would be too well protected now, but the older Potter was arrogant and accessible. That much he could tell for certain, all he needed to figure out though was the best way to draw him out. After all, why go after the peons that he has under his disposal when he can just take care of main man. For once the body looses its head the rest is soon to fallow.

Holding back his maniacal laughter he called out, "Wormtail, get in here. I have a job for you."

The short, fat, scruffy man entered slowly, his body had seen much abuse over he past two day's as his lord had seen fit to introduce him to multiple Crucio's whenever he made his appearance known. Wincing as he entered the room and took a knee he stuttered, "Yyeesss, Mmmaaassterrr."

Voldemort ignored the pathetic man as he finished writing a not on a piece of parchment and sealed it with wax. Holding it out he stated, "You are to bring this to the Vampire Master Burke and return immediately, do you understand?"

"Yes master." He squeaked.

"Good and one more thing…"

Wormtail turned slowly; dread filling his voice as he asked, "Yes Master?"

"CRUCIO…"

After he released the curse Voldemort watched impassively as Wormtail crawled to his feet and made a hasty exit.

Once he was left alone to his thought his mind could not help but to drift back to the incomplete prophesy that he had been told fifteen years ago. He needed to know the rest of it after all, you can hardly defy fate without knowledge of what you must avoid.

He knew that he could avoid it too as it was not the first prophesy he had run up against. He remembered the first one quite clearly. His divination teacher had grabbed a hold of his arm in his six year and stated, "Beware of the Pale white horse for he brings death."

It was short and simple and had lead to the creation of his horcruxes, because Immortals do not die. So it was with the first defeat of a prophecy that Voldemort found out that Fate could be denied. Unfortunately he was still left with nothing for the time being as he was still unable to enter the youngest Potters mind.

Going back over his notes Voldemort searched for a means to lead young Harry to the Ministry to find the prophesy that did not involve entering his mind as it was now near impossible to do so.

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"No"

"Oh come on Ranma."

"No way."

"You said yourself that you feel a lot better now so why not?"

"Because…"

"Please." Tonks pleaded while turning herself into a ten-year-old version of herself to give Ranma the most effective lost puppy look the redhead had ever seen.

Crumbling under the pressure Ranma relented and said, "Fine, I'll go."

Shifting back to her form Tonks smiled and replied, "Good and it just so happens that I have the perfect outfit for you."

Ranma groaned to herself as she followed Tonks into the bedroom her face twisting into the most pitiful dejected look she could pull off without looking cute herself, she would have almost preferred to still be on the couch suffering quietly in her own misery.

Over an hour later Ranma was dressed in the tenth 'perfect' outfit that Tonks had picked out. It consisted of calf high black boots, purple tights, a short black pleated skirt that fell mid thigh, and a nice purple blouse with the top two buttons undone. Her hair was out of her traditional pigtail and hung loosely past her shoulders, styled to have subtle waves rolling through her red locks.

Standing nervously outside of Tonks door she called out, "You almost ready?"

"Just a few more minutes, just got to finish up my makeup then we can go.

Nearly an hour later Ranma heard the telltale creaks of Tonks bedroom door open, hopping up from her position on the couch Ranma let out a low whistle. Tonks was dressed very similar to herself with the exception of the tights being blue and instead of a blouse she was wearing a loose high collared sweater.

After spinning around, allowing Ranma to get a good view of her figure she said, "So Dinner and a movie…" Then giving Ranma a saucy wink she added, "And later, I know this nice little club we can go to."

Ranma shrugged, as long as she had that magical bottle of Midol she would be okay.

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Ranma shivered as she entered the club, it was not a shiver signifying that she was cold though. No it was more of a shiver that asked, 'When is somebody going to jump out of the wood work and attack me for being a pervert.' The reason she was feeling that is because never, not once, had she ever had a whole night out with any girl that went smoothly. In the past something had always came up to spoil the evening and the lack of said event was starting to make Ranma nervous.

Though as her eyes began to adjust to the low lights of the club she hoped that there would not be a lot of guy's there. She had been lucky so far for the night as the restaurant they were at was fairly quiet and had secluded booths; the movie theater had been a slight worry as Ranma had noticed that a lot of guy's were looking at her. But for some reason, having Tonks hanging off of her arm had kept them away from them, leaving them to enjoy the movie without interruption.

Blinking as her eyes finally began to acclimate to the low lights in the club Ranma could barely contain herself, the club while not packed was filled with women with there being no guy's in sight. Not wanting to jinx herself she turned to Tonks and asked, "I don't see any guys?"

Tonks looked back curiously and returned, "Do you want to see guy's? There's a Chip and Dale's a few blocks from here."

Ranma shivered at that, she may not know what Chip and Dales was but she definitely knew that she had no desire to go there. Seemly nonchalantly she said, "Nope this place is fine, I was just curious about why there are no guys here that's all."

Leading her companion to a booth she replied, "This is a special woman's only club, I figured that you didn't want to have to worry about dodging guys tonight."

Ranma nodded her head not noticing that Tonks hand had slid down to her lower back as she guided her to a booth.

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Back at the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, Ron was having an odd night. For the past few ours he had just wondered upstairs keeping out of sight of his mother and some of the other adults that frequented the brownstone.

But no matter what room he went into he was greeted with laughter and it was starting to get on his nerves because no one would tell him what was so funny. He had even went into the bathroom and checked his face to see if he had some remains of dinner stuck to his face but had found nothing besides a small spot on his shirt.

Deciding that he had had enough of being tormented he made his way downstairs to get something to drink and think about what everyone could possibly think was funny about him walking in a room.

Much to his relief Ron was able to make it to the kitchen without running across anyone, which in itself was a rarity considering how many people seem to frequent headquarters. Reaching into the icebox he managed to find a butter beer, taking it out and popping off the cork into the trash bin he sighed. Nothing hit the spot like a nice ice-cold butter beer. He was about to make his way back upstairs into his room when the door opened.

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Sirius had just decided to grab another bottle of fire whiskey as he and Mundungus were having a bit of a drinking competition, the winner would win 5 galleons and of course bragging rights. Upon entering the kitchen he realized that he was no longer alone and had the privilege of coming across the ugliest broad he had ever met, whom seemed to be gifted with the biggest knockers he had ever seen. Shaking his head to clear the alcohol induced cobwebs he realized that it was just Ron still being affected by whatever prank the twins had unleashed upon him.

Shrugging to himself as he figured the novelty had worn off he started making his way over to the cabinet where he was keeping the 'Good Stuff'. That is until he noticed that Ron's shirt now had words on it. Peering drunkenly he read it out loud, "Got Milk."

Ron turned slightly and faced him, his eyes blurred for a moment before he replied while cupping his breast, "Why yes I do, would you like some?"

Taken aback Sirius contemplated the effect too much alcohol had on him before just turning around and leaving the disturbing scene, while swearing to himself that he was never going to drink fire whiskey again.

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Ranma looked around the club with a bit of awe; everyone seemed so friendly and carefree. Plus much to her amazement a lot of the women were getting along fairly well, almost too well. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she became slightly suspicious of the place. Raising a questionable eyebrow to Tonks she was about to ask her something when Tonks cut her off and said, "I told you this is a women's club, just sit back and relax, I'll go get us some drinks and then if you're feeling well enough we can dance for a bit."

Ranma shrugged, she wasn't going to drink much considering that alcohol and her did not agree.

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The rest of the night flew by as once Tonks returned with the drinks; surprisingly both of them were non-alcoholic. After drinking them and having some minor chitchat they made their way to the dance floor and proceeded to dance the night away. It turned out to be rather relaxing for Ranma, as she had managed to go out and have some fun without it being interrupted by a pushy fiancée wanting attention. Also for once a woman was willing to be in close contact with her without asking for her to turn back into a guy or call her a pervert. So Ranma did her best to relish the night and concentrated on enjoying herself.

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The rest of the week that Ranma spent with Tonks was fairly similar to what had happened on the second day, they would spend the majority of the daytime wandering around muggle London taking in the sights and then once night time rolled around Tonks would take her out to eat and then dancing afterward.

The nighttime entertainment varied, meaning that Tonks took her to as many different types of clubs as what she could, ranging from reggae to techno with everything in-between. When Ranma asked why Tonks had said that she was just broadening Ranma's musical knowledge in an attempt to help her find out what she liked.

During this time Ranma had also found out that Tonks had just been assigned to spy on Harry at Hogwarts so they would be able to see each other during the school year although Ranma was fairly positive that being a staff member meant that she could leave whenever she wanted as long he didn't have classes to teach or any other responsibilities to take care of. Luckily because of Tonks new assignment she was immediately placed on vacation until the school year started and she was to report to platform 9 and ¾ to take the Hogwarts express to school.

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Upon his somewhat reluctant return to Grimmauld place Ranma was immediately met by Lu, as it turns out that he had managed to get some information out of Lucius Malfoy as well as received the deed for Malfoy Manner and a large chunk of the Malfoy family fortune.

Ranma followed Lu up to their shared room so they could discuss business without being interrupted. Shutting the door behind himself Ranma asked, "Do you want to put up a few charms or something or can we just settle for locking the door?"

Lu shrugged, he trusted everyone in the house not to disclose their secrets to any death eaters though it wouldn't really matter in the long run as it would eventually become public knowledge. Conjuring up two comfortable recliners he took one for himself and started, "I trust you had a good time?"

Hopping into the chair and using the lever to bring up the foot rest Ranma replied, "Yeah, I had a lot of fun and even learned a few things that will help me the next time I'm stuck being a girl for a few day's"

Lu nodded and said, "That's very good Master, while you were away I was eventually able to question Mr. Malfoy."

"Did he say anything important, like where all his death eater buddies hang out?"

Taking out his notes from the interrogation Lu responded, "It depends on how you look at it."

"Oh?"

"Yeas my Lord, he was able to give me a listing of fellow death eaters as well as a few safe houses. However, due to extenuating circumstances many of the names that he managed to give me are useless to the ministry."

Wondering on how that could be Ranma scratched the back of his head and asked, "Why's that?"

"Apparently most of the lower death eaters are not known by name. I was able to find out that only Voldemort's favored were well known and the rest are broken down into cells. Each cell is commanded by one of the favored usually the one whom brought them into Voldemort's service. So while I was able to gain the names of the inner circle death eaters, the knowledge does us no good."

Frowning because he was missing something Ranma inquired, "How's that? I mean if we have their name then we obviously know who they are and then it should just be a matter of capturing them."

Smiling slightly that Ranma was learning on how to do his job as warmaster Lu replied, "Well apparently, the majority of the inner circle of death eaters are already at Azkaban. Those who aren't are currently in hiding and only report to Voldemort when they are summoned. A few day's ago every safe house that Mr. Malfoy gave us was raided, there were only a few notable Dark objects and unfortunately no death eaters were present."

"So basically you're telling me that the majority of the information you were able to get does us absolutely no good." Ranma said while rubbing his temples. Looking up with a bit of frustration evident in his eyes Ranma asked, "Did we at least get the address of Timmy's hideout?"

Lu shook his head and replied, "No, evidently his hide out is currently protected under the fidlus charm and Lucius Malfoy was not the secret keeper. However, I was able to narrow down the general area but at the best it only brings it down to 100 square kilometers that we would have to search."

Ranma nodded and said, "Fine, I guess what we are going to have to do is once the Amazon and Musk get here, on the weekends we will have them team up with a phoenix and have them start searching the area."

"My Lord?" Lu asked not knowing what Ranma was planning.

"Well, I know that Amazons are skilled trackers and the Musk are supposedly just as good. So if I have them search the general area then even though they wouldn't be able to see the hide out they could still find distortions and if some of them are skilled enough with their ki then they might even be able to find them that way. Plus if I team them up with a member of the phoenix tribe then the phoenix can fly above them. That way whatever distortions that they fail to notice on the ground might be picked up in the air." Ranma stated matter of factly.

"How can you be certain that they can do this?"

"I can't, I just know that I was able to sense this place before I knew where it was. I couldn't see it but I knew something was here. So I'm guessing that if the warriors are good enough they should be able to find something."

Catching on to what Ranma was suggesting Lu finished, "And if they come across a suspicious area then that area can be marked on the map and investigated by specialists at a later time."

Looking rather smug Ranma nodded and said, "Yep." Pausing briefly his expression turned serous for a moment as he asked, "Did ya manage to get any more useful information out of the bastard."

Taking a look down at his notes Lu said, "Well, I did get the information on 4 junior death eaters. I also found out that while his son is willing to take up the dark mark his wife has still chosen to remain neutral. That might be to our advantage as we might be able to turn the mother by pressuring her son. But I should warn you that she could turn either way, especially if we go after her child as she is said to be a bit motherly concerning her son."

Ranma shook his head and replied, "We'll leave her be. I'm not about to blackmail people to do the right thing."

"Very well my lord…" rereading a section of his notes, Lu snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "I can't believe I almost forgot."

"What's that?"

"I was able to successfully inquire about Voldemort's financial resources. Mr. Malfoy explained that Voldemort has a large vault at his hideout where he keeps a massive amount of financial reserves that he had managed to collect from his followers over the years. Furthermore, there are lesser vaults at every safe house to ensure that funding will not be a problem."

Ranma nodded to himself in understanding, he guessed that if they were able to put enough of a stranglehold on Voldemort's funding that it would probably help in the war effort in the long run. Curiously he drawled out slowly, "Sooo, whose gonna collect the money?"

Lu shrugged and replied, "I don't know, I gave a copy of my interview notes to Madame Bones so I figure they probably acted on it by now as Mr. Malfoy has been detained for awhile. I know if they already haven't acted then the information is most likely useless by now as the death eaters have had time to clear the safe houses out."

"Well didn't Madame Bones just join the order?" Ranma inqueriered.

Lu shuffled slightly in his seat before responding, "Well that's the thing. There have been no Order meetings since you left. People still come in and report to Dumbledore when he's here but lately everything has become hush hush."

Ranma sat there silently for a few moments before asking, "Do you think that Dumbledore's intentionally attempting to keep Harry away from the meetings?"

"If I were to guess, that's what I would assume as everyone still receives the information they need and missions are still be handed out." Lu speculated.

"So what should we do about it?"

"Nothing my lord. We are allies and as such they can hardly keep information from us. If worse comes to worse, we shall keep master Harry informed ourselves. While I think this change is intentional, I believe that it is being done for Harry's sake as soon he will be in school and it would not be wise to distract him constantly with details that he can do nothing about, taking away his concentration away from his education."

Taking in a deep breath Ranma said, "Alright, this is what we are going to do, go through your notes and copy anything that you think Harry should know and give him a copy. Then I think we should enquire at the ministry to find out if they raided those safe houses or at least have them under watch… Now is there anything else?"

"The Ministry has approved our takeover of Malfoy Manor after they finish going through checking for dark objects. It was raided two nights ago so we should be taking possession within the next few days. I have already sent word to have an elder and a few potion masters from each Kingdom sent out here to help set up the school. Also I have received a list of potential squibs that would like to take the courses, all together there are about forty students for the first term."

Nodding in understanding Ranma added, "What about the funding?"

Lu sighed and replied, "Minister Fudge is still working on that. I do not know whether or not he is attempting to stall or not. However if worse comes to worse then we can always run the school at a temporary loss until we can figure out how much to charge for admission…" Raising his hand slightly to stall off what ever comment Ranma might have forthcoming Lu added, "I know… I know… The tuition fee's were already decided, but to boost attendance we might have to lower them forcing us to run the school at a loss for awhile until it starts to balance out."

Glancing down at his notes once more Lu resisted the urge to snap his fingers as he added, "Just a few more things. Transportation for your honor guard and exchange students have already been worked out, though I do not know what they are, just that they have already been taken care of. They are scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts sometime during the Sorting ceremony. I also received word that the council does not wish for them to become integrated into the different houses. I believe it is the council's intent to have the group being sent out to you to learn about unity and working together. To that end they have also informed me that every single student they send is a member of your personal Unit. Meaning you are to treat them as the warriors they are despite their ages. This doesn't mean, however that you have to send little children out on missions as in their villages they are still restricted until they hit fourteen."

Rising to his feet Ranma said, "That's fine Lu, good job. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would do fine if not a bit rocky at first my lord."

Ranma waved him off and said, "Yeah, probably." Hearing his stomach release a fierce growl Ranma shrugged sheepishly and said, "Come on let's go see if there's something to eat in the kitchen."

End of chapter 10

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, it's just mostly filler as the next chapter will start with the train ride and Ranma's arrival at Hogwarts.


	11. Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

Brothers United

AN I'd like to thank all of those whom have dropped a review and offered their advice. Also I'd like to thank James Axelrad for his ongoing help.

DISCLAIMER- I do not own Harry Potter or Ranma ½, they belong to their respective owners.

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Draco Malfoy was not a happy young man as he made his way onto the Hogwarts Express, in the past month he had lost; his home, a large chunk of his family's fortune, and more importantly prestige. It did occur to the young man that the losses had happened due to his father's actions but he himself did not blame his father for he was just doing the right thing. Muggles were like a disease and needed to be dealt with before they completely corrupted wizarding kind.

Unfortunately for Draco, ever since the loss of Malfoy manor, he had been lectured on his attitude by his mother about how if he wasn't careful it would bring him to ruin just like it had his father and then the Malfoy name would loose all it's remaining prestige. He had scoffed at that, if his father was to be believed then the Dark Lord had already returned and it was just a matter of time before his father was set free, after all his father was one of the inner circle and the Dark lord must see the benefit of rewarding loyalty. Then once his father had been set free the Malfoy name would regain tenfold what they had lost because of their loyalty to the Dark Lord.

Perhaps the most contributing factor to Draco's mood though was the attitude that his mother had chosen to take. She had been furious at his father for getting caught and for costing them so much, when it could have been prevented with proper planning. Though the only facts that they had been able to garnish from Aurors and family connections were that his father had openly assaulted Potter only to have Potter's mysterious older brother step in and defeat him in a duel. That in its self was laughable because Draco figured it would be a cold day in hell before any Potter got the better of a Malfoy.

Despite his feelings on the matter though, it was apparent to Draco that this new Potter had defeated his father, as the Daily Prophet and the Aurors that had seized Malfoy Manor had basically said the same thing. Frowning as he picked out a compartment to wait for Crabby and Goyle before he made his way to the Prefects meeting, Draco decided that he would not be able to treat the new Potter like how he treated his nemesis as the implications of Ranma's strength and skill were supposedly vastly superior to his own. And while Draco didn't necessarily believe that he figured that being a true Slytheryn he would act behind the scenes, and then he would get his revenge. After all nobody offers charity to a Malfoy and gets away with it.

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Neville Longbottom was in high spirits with his face filled with determination as he left his escort of Aurors to climb onboard the Hogwarts Express, after years of seeing his parents in a near vegetative state with no improvement, he finally had something to be happy for. His parents were recovering. Sure the process was slow and the road to recovery was still a long one but earlier in the morning as he was getting his trunk ready for the trip to Hogwarts there had been a breakthrough. His mother had hugged him and cried because for a few minutes she had recognized him as her son. But the good news did not stop there, no while his mother was hugging him his father had entered the room and placed his hand on Neville's shoulder, there were no words spoken but after the hug had broken up Neville caught something in his fathers eyes. At first he had been unsure as to what it was as Neville had never been much of a people person but his Gran had known and as he walked out of the room she had whispered to him, "He's proud of you."

That had caused Neville to stop and think for a moment, his Gran had always been a strict but fair woman and complements were never given lightly but what had he done to make his father proud? He had never really done anything special, he had a hard time in school, though he seemed to be getting better with the exception of his dismal grades in Potions. As Neville had gone upstairs to grab his trunk, he decided though that whatever happens this year he would make sure that his fathers praise was not empty, that when he returned at the end of term both his parents would have something to be proud about when they saw him.

But the first and foremost thought on his mind as he climbed onboard the train was to find Harry, as he owed the fellow Gryffindor brother a thank you and in his own eyes a life debt.

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Ryouga Habiki sat, sullenly, all alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. His legs swung slightly, dangling from his perch as a constant reminder to his prepubescent state. He hated being a kid again and had begged the old man Dumbledore to allow himself to find a cure for his current predicament. The answer had been a firm, "No." as he was told that Aging Mushrooms are extremely rare and dangerous and that he was lucky to have his age restored the last time he had used them.

To further darken the not so lost boys mood was the fact that as it turned out, Ryouga felt that the old wizard had reneged on his promise to help him control his families curse. Sure the Headmaster had stated that that just wasn't the case, rather it was that Ryouga would have to wait until he had a better grasp of magic and at least be a few years older before he could be properly instructed on how to control his directional curse. Though part of the reason was that due to his reduced age he no longer had access to the skill, as it would not manifest itself until he was twelve to thirteen.

The only good news that Ryouga had was the fact that his Magical education had been paid for completely. That was the only small comfort in the whole mess, as he had managed to find out the down side of using ageing mushrooms. Last time he had used them, it had been only for a short while so the side effects did not have time to manifest themselves. However, that was no longer the case as he had been approximately 11 years old for a few months now.

Ryouga had known that when he was de-aged the first time he had lost a lot of his enhanced strength that had come with him being nearly full grown so it was expected that he would lose a lot of that on his second exposure. What had not been expected though was the fact that his ki had begun to diminish and match what it had been the first time he had been 11. Even worse though was the fact that because he had not been spending his time training as he had been too busy sulking over his disposition, that his body was becoming even weaker at an accelerated pace, meaning that he could no longer carry his umbrella. He had been horrified when he realized how much his strength had degraded, Sure he was still two to three times stronger than a normal kid but the last time he had been eleven he had been two to three times stronger than most adults.

Ryouga could not even partake in the joy of his curse no longer being a water magnet, as it seems that the Magic surrounding Hogwarts absorbs the chaotic magic that all cursed victims radiate, meaning so as long as he was on Hogwarts grounds he wouldn't have to worry about random transformations, or so he had been told. His curse was still there but now the only way he would transform is by regular chance, though the old man Dumbledore had taken pity on him and set a charm on his clothes to where as long as he was wearing his robes water would not touch him. But instead of taking small comfort in that Ryouga focused on the fact that all the teachers knew about him turning into a pig and once he was assigned to a house his housemates would be told as well. There was an upside to it though as Ryouga had been informed that he would be receiving animegnus lessons from professor McGonnall as the professor had came across an old scroll that would allow him to control his pig curse.

"Can I sit with you."?

Ryouga jerked out of his musings to noticed a sandy haired young girl around his apparent age, shuffling her feet shyly at the door to his compartment. He stared at the girl whom seemed to look at him without judgment or malice and started to feel better. Ever since his families curse had manifested itself Ryouga had felt as if everyone he met looked down on him for his inability to get to point a to point b without going through points e through z.

If he were to be honest with himself then perhaps that was the reason that he had latched so firmly on his rivalry with Ranma, sure to a certain extent it had been about martial arts and a slight on his own honor but mostly it was a means to mask what he did not want to feel. That being the pitying looks of every Tobi, Diasuke and Haruki.

Deep down though Ryouga could feel that the girl standing at the doorway was not looking at him the same way people did when he had been older and that granted him a sense of hope. Hope that this time things could be different as he was going to be at the right place at the right time to learn what would be necessary for him not have to go through the same things he had last time he had grown up. Perhaps this time things could be different and he wouldn't be forced to leave his friends behind due to his inability to get somewhere.

So it was with the thought that maybe this time he wouldn't be alone all the time and have a chance at having some real friends he answered, "Uhm… Sure."

"Thank you." The girl sighed as she stepped into the compartment. "I'm so nervous… Three weeks ago I didn't even know magic was real…"

As Ryouga listened to the girl nervously continue on, he began realize that he had been looking at things the wrong way. That what had happened was not a personal disaster caused by his rival. That now he had an opportunity to better himself so that he would not be forced to be alone again. It was then that he realized that instead of focusing on how his bad luck had managed to ruin his life he should be focusing on what opportunities he was being given, mainly a new start. One in which he would not be considered second best to Saotome or whatever he called himself. One in which his two most humiliating curses were for all extensive purposes nullified until he would have complete control over them.

Leaning back in his seat and smiling a real non-delusional smile for the first time in a long time Ryouga could not resist feeling happy for himself.

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Ranma stared at the long line consisting of redheads, her brother and his friends, that were lined up to enter platform 9 and 3 quarters. She had decided to follow them discretely from a distance with Tonks just incase something happened and she had to step in. The reason why she was currently in female form and not with the other group was that she had a cover to maintain and until Harry pulled the memories out of her mind she would maintain it.

Ranma frowned to herself, she really didn't understand why she needed to ride the train as she could just have her Phoenix take her to the school but Lu had disagreed with her. He had told her that since his honor guard along with the rest of the transfer students from the valley were delayed by a day that this was an excellent opportunity to reinforce her cover. At least Ranma had Tonks to keep her company. She supposed that perhaps she owed the Minister of Magic a thank you but then again Tonks was there to spy on her male form as well as Harry and then report directly back to Fudge and senior Undersecretary Umbridge.

Ranma had not been surprised to learn that there was a plot to oust Dumbledore from his job as well as one to sabotage Harry's schooling. Well not just Harry's, according to Tonks the plan was to reaffirm the belief that Voldemort had not returned by means of steadfast denial. Basically with Umbridge taking over, as the DADA instructor part of her goal was to insist that there was no need to learn the practical's as there was no real threat out there.

Ranma had taken all that in stride though, as it didn't really matter, if things got too far out of hand then He and Sirius would step in and assert their seats on the Hogwarts board of governors. Already his godfather was lining up a list of 'great' new ideas to pitch at the rest of the Board, like a school holiday on April first where it's prank or be pranked as well as once a month mandatory shaving's of Mrs. Norris.

Ranma had wondered at that, most women she knew would never want to be covered in hair, and with the exception of cologne, who had a bit of a stash growing, she didn't know any overly hairy women.

Feeling someone giving her arm a tug, Ranma looked up and noticed that Tonks attempting to drag her forward while at the same time push their trolley towards the magical entrance that would lead them to the Hogwarts express. Feeling slightly embarrassed that Tonks was pushing the cart Ranma went to try to take the cart away from her.

"Let me help…"

"I was wondering when you were going to stop daydreaming and give me a hand with this…"

With her cheeks flushed in embarrassment over having momentarily spacing out Ranma muttered an apology and began to push the cart towards the entrance to platform 9 and ¾.

Tonks wanting to double-check a few things asked, "Do you remember your name?"

"I'm not totally daft you know." Replied Ranma, letting a bit of her newly acquired British slang into play.

"I know that… Sooo…"

Rolling her eyes Ranma replied, "Mauve Rowan, I'm a fifth year student who was home schooled by a friend of my aunt Maggie's."

Nodding in satisfaction Tonks asked, "Why?"

"Because my mother had been killed 15 years ago in a Death Eater raid and my Aunt decided that I would learn as much as I could about the non magical world before starting at Hogwarts, so that if she felt that things were going to get like they had been back then I could leave the magical world and still have most of the knowledge I would need to survive in the muggle world." Ranma droned having memorized her cover story from having it drilled in her head by Lu.

"Good… what's my name…"?

Ranma's brow furrowed in thought for a moment as if she had not yet committed Tonks cover identity to memory, just before Tonks was about to answer for her she replied, "Adelaide Tonks… Addy for short…" Hearing a low growl coming from her companion Ranma amended, "Tonks for short… You know that's not really that much of a cover identity… I mean you are going by the same name you always do… "

Tonks shrugged, truthfully she had not really put that much effort into her cover identity and just had figured that she could pretend to be her own cousin on her fathers side who had been home schooled by her mother/aunt in magic.

Of course in her report to the ministry of magic she had told them that she was bribing one Mauve Rowan to pretend to be old friends in order to further reinforce her cover identity. That had the added benefit of the ministry giving her a small increase in pay as Tonks mentioned that she had to keep the money flowing as long as she was under cover. Of course Ranma didn't know that but she figured the money would wind up being spent on Ranma one way or another.

Having pushed their cart into position to enter platform 9 and ¾ Tonks asked, "Who taught you magic and how do you know me?"

Ranma paused for a second and replied, "Andromeda Tonks, Your Aunt (or mother depending on which identity she was using) we were schooled together."

"Good you remembered." Glancing over at one of the stations many clocks she added, "Well we better get a move on it before we get left behind."

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Harry paused at the entrance to the compartment and knocked, before he pushed the door open to peer inside and ask, "Do you mind if I join you?"

The sole occupant of the compartment, a long blond-haired girl with silvery eyes wearing radish earrings and a butter beer cap necklace answered back, "No, I suppose not."

Happy to finally be able to sit down again after searching the train for an empty compartment and not finding one Harry happily made his way inside and took a seat across from the young witch.

Harry shuffled in his seat, bursting with excitement and good cheer; he had not felt this way since his first year when magic was new to him. Glancing across to his compartment mate he blinked as he noticed that she was reading a newspaper. That in its self was not odd, the fact that she was reading it upside down was. He was about to make a comment on it when the girl peered at him from over the top of the paper and asked, "You seem to be in a really good mood…"

Harry nodded, truthfully he was in higher spirits then what he could ever remember and it was all thanks to his brother or rather the fact that he now had a brother. All other concerns were quickly taking a back seat, especially after having watched his brother handle the elder Malfoy with no trouble at all. Just seeing his brother in action that one time had done wonders for his attitude. As for the first time since he had found out about Voldemort he felt completely safe and worry free with the belief that his brother could easily dispatch the evil wizard. Then there was the fact that his brother had a whole army of skilled magical warriors under his command was just icing on the metaphorical cake.

"Do you mind if we join you?"

Harry shifted his attention to the doorway and after a brief bout in controlling his gaping mouth was able to smile and reply, "Sure, come on in the more the merrier." Though his thoughts were going a completely different direction, "_Blimey… Ranma was right… It's starting already and I'm not even at school yet… The girls are going to be all over me… Hopefully they don't act like those girls back in Japan that Ranma was telling me about… I wonder though… Is there a spell that summons massive amounts of jello?"_

"Luna Lovegood."

"Huh…" Replied Harry, having spaced out temporarily for the second time in mere minutes.

"My name, I was introducing myself."

"Oh." Harry blushed, realizing that he had not asked for the blond's name before. "Harry Potter."

Giggling Luna replied, "I know. I wasn't talking to you."

"Huh…" Harry replied getting lost somewhere in the conversation before deciding to turn his attention to the two newcomers. They were around his age but he was fairly certain that he had not met them before but that was not really saying much because he hadn't met Luna before he stepped into the compartment.

Shifting his attention away from the blond across from him Harry turned his attention to the two newcomers and immediately noticed that they were sitting awfully close to each other which was weird because there was plenty of room on the bench for them to sit comfortably apart instead of nearly right on top of each other, with the shorter one, a well endowed red head sitting practically on top of the taller slender black haired girl. Though Harry had to admit to himself that the red head did look a bit anxious. There was something else though Harry thought as he shook his head in an attempt to figure out what he was feeling. The two girls were stirring up a sense of familiarity within him, the redhead more so than the other, but he knew he had never met either before. In an attempt to not to make a total fool out of himself as he realized that he was staring he asked, "What did you say your names were again?"

The black haired girl responded, "You must really 'ave been out of it… You can call me Tonks and this little lass is Mauve Rowan."

Harry blinked and asked, "Any relation to…" "What's her first name? I can't remember…" "I don't suppose you have a relative that's an Auror?"

"My cousin."

"Ahh." Harry replied thinking that perhaps that was the reason on why he was feeling something familiar about them, though that still did not explain what he was feeling towards the redhead.

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Ranma was feeling a bit uncomfortable with her position on top of Tonks lap, feeling as if everyone was staring at her. She supposed it was natural to feel that way given her history, especially when she thought about her time in Nerima. The only reason, well three reasons, on why Ranma was letting Tonks treat her this way were; they were officially dating now, though they were dating as Tonks the Auror and Ranma Potter. Two, Ranma recognized a need to become comfortable with showing some level of affection in public though she thought Tonks was going a bit overboard. And the final reason was purely due to Tonks convincing her that it would be a great prank if they both pretended to be very open lesbians while they were retaining their cover identities.

Ranma supposed the only part that was really pretend about the situation was the fact that she was open about being a lesbian as she had come across the realization during her stay at Tonks flat that she was a lesbian. Sure she knew that she wasn't attracted to guys long before that but before Tonks had come around she viewed her cursed form as a separate entity from herself and had not counted it as part of herself. Now though, with Tonks she was beginning to realize that both were parts of herself. No matter what form Ranma was in Tonks treated them basically the same, though there was a slight difference when Ranma was female as Tonks then tended to be a bit more dominate. That was not saying much as the slightly older witch was always a bit pushy, just not in a bad way.

Noticing that a slightly awkward silence had settled across the small cabin Ranma tried to relax into Tonks side and asked, "So what were you all talking about before we came in?"

"Harry was about to tell me how glad he was to find out that he had a brother." Luna answered before Harry had a chance.

"Oh is that Right?" Ranma replied with a bemused smile as she realized that she had the opportunity to find out what Harry really thought of her without him guarding his answers. Not that she felt he was doing so but she knew that she had been holding back some of her feelings from him, nothing bad she just thought Harry could loosen up some and stop worrying about everything, after all now that she was around there was nothing to worry about because that's what big brothers were for.

"Ohhh, that's right you are Harry Potter… I see the scar… My aunt tells me that my cousin has been seeing an awful lot of your brother… " Tonks offered, her voice taking on a conspiring tone.

Harry shrugged and replied, "I guess, Ranma hasn't really said anything."

"Oh is that so!" Tonks replied as her eyes narrowed and took on a slightly dangerous gleam that went unnoticed by Harry.

Sensing that she was on dangerous ground Ranma hurriedly shot out, "Perhaps… He doesn't want Harry thinking that he is being…. Uhm…. Pushed aside?!! You know seeing as they just met this summer… Besides your aunt said that they had just started dating within the past few day's… You know… Because Ranma was out of town for a week."

Tonks sighed taking the hint, realizing that Harry probably would not know much considering that he did not know any more than what he had seen first hand as the majority of the time they had spent together was with Ranma chan and Harry did not know about his brothers duality. "I suppose that that is a reasonable excuse… And I was really hoping for some good gossip on this mysterious Brother of yours Harry."

Harry shrugged away the feeling that he was missing something and replied, "I suppose if I hear something I could let you know."

Deciding to change the subject before the conversation steered even closer to her personal life Ranma asked, "Is it true that your brother beat Lucius Malfoy in a duel at the ministry?"

There was a brief rustling of paper as Ranma decided to relax before Luna replied, "There's a photo on page six."

"Huh…" Ranma replied as she thought the only pictures that had been released to the Daily Prophet were of Harry and her, him at the time, standing together with Sun Lu."

Holding up the picture Luna replied, "My father managed to get this picture from the ministries security office."

Ranma stifled a groan to herself as she looked at the picture, sure enough it was one of him after he had fought Malfoy but the most embarrassing part was the fact that it showed the only item of clothing left after Harry had helpfully banished his burnt clothes, that being the gleaming sliver cod piece, that she now realized drew a lot of attention to her or rather his package as the photo was one of those wizarding photos that moved and every time the Ranma in the photo moved a gleam of light would reflect off of the cod piece.

"Ooohhh, that's a much better picture than what the Daily Prophet had… Don't suppose you have an extra paper with you… So I can get a copy for my cousin."

"Sorry, I could order you a back copy… It seems that there was a miscalculation with the printers."

"Oh." Tonks replied feeling slightly down as she wasn't going to pay extra for a back copy of a paper for a small photo, even if the photo was frame worthy.

Of course at that moment Luna re folded the paper to a different page causing Ranma to nearly swallow her tongue as the entire backside of the paper was showing that there was a poster sized cutout of the smaller picture that Luna had just showed them.

"How???"

"Err…"

"You said something about being able to back order that issue?" Tonks interjected over Ranma's stumbling and continued with, "Luna here must be the daughter of Xenophiles Lovegood, the editor of the Quibbler… I thought I recognized your name… Say that happened a while ago, why is your father running that picture now?"

"Oh this is the annual welcome back to Hogwarts special addition and my father always runs a small profile on new teachers. This year's copy is the first one ever to sell out, before I boarded the train my dad told me that there was a week back order for this edition."

Now that he understood what was going on Harry snickered in his seat feeling smug as he had managed to pull off a prank that just keeps pranking on his older brother without even trying.

Cursing the kami for her luck Ranma was distracted by a commotion at the door to the compartment.

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"The nerve of some people… And you Ron are a prefect now it would not hurt if you would have backed me up a little."

"Come on Hermione it's just a picture, sides It's just Ranma."

"No Ron it's pornographic smut and it's a picture of your best friends brother… You should be more supporting… I have half a mind to write a letter to the editor of this Quibbler and give him a piece of my mind… taking photo's like that and placing them in a news paper… At least that little boy with the fangs helped me destroy some of them."

"Yeah… Weird little bugger… I wonder what was up with that kid, his eye kept twitching."

"Ron, Moine… Come on in." Harry called out, glad to have his friends around because of how awkward he was starting to feel by himself in a compartment full of girls.

"Hey there Harry, didn't see you in there, can't stay too long though… Hermione is dragging me up and down the train so she can confiscate some pictures of your brother." Ron answered seemly annoyed with his forced labor. "Don't see what the big deal of it is… I got plenty of pictures that show more, stuffed in my trunk."

Harry noticing that all the other girls in the cabin were looking at Ron rather strangely, with the exception of Hermione who was practically frothing at the mouth at the red headed boy's admission, unconsciously he shifted in his seat putting a bit more distance between himself and his best friend. Though he was grateful that Ron had not mentioned having naked pictures of him, meaning that hopefully Ron would just crush on Ranma and not make their friendship awkward.

Praying to whatever Kami were listening that Nabiki was still in Nerima and had not managed to track him down, Ranma cautiously asked, "And where did you get those from?"

Ron turned his jerked his head towards the voice, having been too busy arguing with Hermione and then talking to Harry to have taken notice of the two other occupants of the cabin, and immediately flushed as his eye's where drawn to the red heads chest. "Err… My brothers… bed and doors… gred and forge… Err.. I mean…" Taking in a deep breath to calm the raging fires of his libido that where set aflame with passion over the fellow redhead Ron finished, "Fred and George got them for me…" As

his eyes roamed all over Ranma's body, taking in her curves and idly noting her precarious position on top of a slender black haired girl.

"Oh…" Ranma stated, really wierded out over the fact that Fred and George were taking beefcake pictures of her in male form as she did not realize that Ron was talking about having pornographic material featuring women and not men.

Hermione frowned at Ron's behavior, unlike the others in the cabin she knew what Ron was talking about. However that was only a secondary concern as she was really starting to get annoyed at the way Ron was staring at the red head. Turning her head away from the frustrating git of a friend Hermione noticed another one of those dammed papers with the crotch shot of Ranma in it. Taking a few steps forward so she would be standing right in front of the girl she turned and said, "Excuse me, but I'm going to have to confiscate that."

"Why?" Luna asked.

Hermione stared at the younger girl and recognized her as a girl that she had seen talking to Ginny on a few occasions but failed to place a name with her face. Placing her hands on her hips Hermione stated, "Pornographic materials are not allowed within the halls of Hogwarts."

Luna gave Hermione a shocked look and replied, "It's hardly Pornographic, I should know."

"Oh why is that? Are you some sort of Judge on the matter?" Hermione fired back starting to get annoyed.

"As a matter of fact…"

"No…

But I did stay at a Witching Day Inn Express last night…"

Ignoring the need to ask how staying in a motel made Luna an expert on pornographic materials, Hermione waited for her to continue.

"But then my daddy is the editor of the Quibbler and I hardly think that he would willing give me porn…." Luna paused for a second to consider her words and then added, "Though I suppose that this could be his way of subtlety telling me that it's okay if I were to start dating and such."

Instead of responding to the girl Hermione just held out her hand making it clear that she wanted the paper.

Luna not wanting to part with her reading material sighed and asked, "Can you at least wait until after I'm done reading, there is this rather interesting article about how the ministry is secretly at war with the Goblins of Gringots and I would like to finish reading it."

Ranma shivered, feeling Tonks arm slide behind her to where it was obscured by her own body and the wall of the cabin. She nearly jumped when moments later the hand attached to said arm worked its way under her sweater and begin to lightly stroke her skin. Feeling torn between saying something , alerting others to her predicament and relaxing into the touch, Ranma decided on the latter as at least that way she could seemly ignore the way Ron was starring at her.

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n

A short time later---

Ranma aka Mauve, Tonks, Luna, Harry sat alone in the compartment, Hermione and Ron having headed off to do their rounds, and in Hermoine's case confiscate as many editions of the Quibbler that she could find.

Though Ranma rather liked the girl and did not hold anything against her she could not help being relieved by the younger girls exit from the compartment as the entire time Hermione spent with them was rotated between glaring at the Quibbler in Luna's hand or at Ranma herself. Ranma wasn't entirely sure but was guessing that the glares had something to do with the way Ron kept looking at her. In some way's it was a reminder of her time spent in Nerima as Ron seemed to be a bit glassy eyed and vacant as he looked at her, reminiscent of a certain Blue Blunder.

Now that Harry's friends were gone though Ranma was free once more to lean back and enjoy the subtle ministrations that Tonks had been giving her. Not that she wasn't enjoying it before, but between Hermoine's glares and Ron's stares, Ranma had been getting a bit uncomfortable.

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Hearing the compartment door slide open Ranma glanced over hoping that Hermione and Ron were still preoccupied with their quest to confiscate all of the copies of the Quibbler that they could find. At least Ranma hoped they were destroying them as she was getting mixed signals from Ron and really did not want the lad to be lusting after her or him.

So Ranma was greatly relieved when instead of two bickering teens a blond boy who looked entirely too self-absorbed stepped into the small compartment. Though for some reason Ranma felt that the boy looked awfully familiar but could not place his face.

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Once Ron and Hermione had left Harry had reached into his over sized pockets and pulled out the disk man Ranma had bought him, so he could listen to music to help pass the time as the presence of three attractive women were making him feel a bit uncomfortable, but when the door opened and revealed a sneering Draco Malfoy, he could not help but be annoyed as Draco's appearance meant that he was not going to be able to enjoy his music. Sighing forlornly Harry flatly said, "Draco."

Stepping into the compartment Draco held his tongue, in an effort to not say the first thing that came to his mind, which was probably some sort of rude remark about Luna. His eye's darting around the cabin to take in its occupants Draco smoothly replied, "Now, now Potter, I'm just going about my rounds no need to have a fit."

Harry snorted and replied, "Sure… And I'm the bloody king of England."

Draco took in a deep breath, he knew that Potter was baiting him but also realized that he could not afford to slip back into old patterns if he were to get his revenge on his nemesis' brother. Unclenching his fist Draco replied, "Honestly Potter, No need to be so self absorbed, the whole world doesn't involve around you you know. As I said, I was just doing my Rounds, I am a Prefect after all."

Harry nodded slightly, if Draco was not going to pick a fight then he'd let him be as he had more pressing things to worry about, like how the bloody hell Ranma could call the Bengal's music, as that had been the first CD on the pile, thus Harry had grabbed it thinking that Ranma must have liked it, not knowing that Ranma had set aside the entire pile to give to Tonks as he did not like those CD's.

Turning his attention away from his nemesis Draco focused his gaze on the other three members of the compartment. He immediately recognized 'Loony Lovegood' but the other two he had never seen before.

Dismissing 'Loony' He focused on the other two and summoned his famed charms and said, "Ladies you must forgive my friend over there, it seems as if he's still a bit miffed over my last prank from last year." Then shifting his posture to stand strait he bowed and said, "Draco Malfoy at your service, fifth year prefect and the seeker on Slytheryn's Quidditch team."

Ranma rolled her eyes at the blond boy; now that she knew his last name she realized why he seemed familiar, as the boy was a spitting image of the elder Malfoy. She had been about to respond but Tonk's beat her to it with, "Charmed I'm sure."

Mistaking Tonk's flat reply for interest Draco continued, "I've not seen you about before and you look a bit mature to be first year students."

Tonks shrugged and replied, "We were both home schooled."

"Ah' Draco thought, thinking that both of the witches must come from pureblood families then as they were the only ones with the resources to properly home school their children, though that also meant that the two girls families might have been too poor to send them to Hogwarts their first year.

After pausing to make it look like she was deep in thought, Tonks continued with, "Actually, we were taught by your aunt."

Draco shivered at that thought for a second before he realized that they were talking about his mother's muggle loving sister and not the talented one who was wasting away in Azkaban. But just thinking of his Muggle loving Aunt made himself shiver once more. Realizing now who had taught the two girls Draco decided to make his exit before he said something that would ruin his plans for the Potter family as he needed to get Harry's guard down.

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The rest of the train ride went by fairly quickly for Ranma as she managed to fall asleep. Thus she missed it when Neville Longbottom entered to talk to Harry about herself.

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Tonks looked down at the redhead leaning on her shoulder as she slept and wondered how she should go about waking her up. Looking around the cabin she thought about waking her up with a steamy kiss as that would probably blow Harry and Ron's minds as well as most likely set Hermione off on her. Cackling evilly in her own mind she almost missed Hermione ask her something. "I'm sorry what was that?"

Hermione frowned, and stated, "I said we are almost there and it might be a good idea to wake your friend up so that she can slip on her school robes."

"Ah… Sure no problem, my shoulder was falling asleep anyway." Tonks replied dismissively, having a bit of fun with the entire situation. Having not thought up any other ideas on how to wake Ranma up she settled for her original idea and gently changed positions to allow herself better access to the redhead.

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Ranma had been having the strangest dream, first she had been battling Godzilla and wrecking Tokyo while having a blast doing it. Then Ranma felt himself turn into a girl. She briefly looked down to briefly confirm it but when she looked back up Godzilla was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly though she felt some begin to fondle her shapely rear and much to her surprise she found herself enjoying it and thus was in no hurry to turn around and confront the groper. But she knew that with Godzilla on the loose she had no time for pleasantries and needed to get back to randomly destroying buildings…

Err… Cautiously seeking out the real monster.

As soon as she began to turn around the fondling stopped, making Ranma even more cautious. But before she finished turning around the dream morphed, replacing the semi destroyed area of Tokyo with a grassy plain full of colorful flowers and large shady trees whose branches were swaying in the soft breeze making it seem like they were in tune to the pleasant romantic music that was emanating softly from an unknown source.

No sooner had she managed to turn around when suddenly she caught movements off to the side and immediately shifted her vision ignoring what was in front of her in favor of the pleasant sight to her side.

It should be noted that the pleasant sight Ranma was staring at involved puppies.

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Puppies that were ruthlessly ripping apart small demons…

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Small demons that looked suspiciously a lot like small Kittens…

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Small kittens that were in fact small Kittens that were being ripped apart by cute little puppies.

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Ranma idly wiped away a small droplet of mist that had appeared on her cheek from watching the heart warming display the cute little puppies were putting on and reluctantly turned her attention back to what was in front of her and paused.

Because there standing in front of her was Godzilla, with hands on hips and its foot tapping as if the giant monster was annoyed for some reason. Raising an eyebrow Ranma shot off with, "What? It's my dream and if I want to see Puppies being happy then that's what I want and no two bit monster is going to guilt me into thinking otherwise."

Much to Ranma's surprise though her taunt seemed to fall upon deaf ears as Godzilla just arched an eyebrow in return.

What happened next totally caught the currently female martial artist/witch/wizard off guard as the giant beast lunged forward.

Ranma expecting an attack went to shift her position ever so slightly in an effort to use the monsters own momentum against itself.

Instead of attacking though Ranma-chan found herself within the monsters clutches as it began to lightly stroke her with its hand/paws/claws. She opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Godzilla's attempt to neck with her.

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In the real world, one not filled with the heart-warming scenes that occupied Ranma's mind, Tonks was enjoying herself and the opportunity presented to her.

As Tonks deepened the kiss she could not help but grin to herself with satisfaction as she distinctly heard: an indignant gasp of shock, a "Blimey" followed by a loud thud, a dreamy voice state, "Aww… That's soo sweet…" and finally what she assumed was Harry's response, "Better her than me." Which made her wonder as that was not the response she had been expecting.

Nor had she been expecting Ranma to awake suddenly, jerking out of her grasp in the process.

Staring at the redhead in concern she asked lightly, "Something wrong?"

Confused from the sudden shift from fantasy to reality Ranma nodded and muttered to herself, "Oh its just Tonks… Thought you were a giant monster intent on having your way with me…"

Tonks looked at the smaller girl warily and decided she was better off not asking and instead offered, "We are almost to Hogsmead, and you might want to slip on your robes."

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--- Hogsmead Station –

Ranma followed behind Tonks and a throng of students as they filed off of the train. Hearing a woman call out, "First years this way please." Ranma turned to Tonks and asked, "So where do we go now?"

Grabbing onto Ranma's hand Tonks replied, "We'll be taking the carriages with the students our age… Didn't you read the letter that Professor McGonagall sent you?"

Ranma shrugged and replied, "No…" "Hey Tonks?"

"Yes Mauve?"

"Wizards don't torture horses for fun do they?"

"No Mauve they do not… Well most don't… Why?" Tonks stated flatly.

Shuffling slightly Ranma replied, "Well, how do you explain those then?" pointing at a creature with; large blank like eye's, a dragonish looking face, with a long black mane coming down the back of its neck, or rather the bony skeletal looking thing that Ranma was assuming was a neck. Then just as they approached the carriage the creatures large leathery wings spread out making it seem as if the creature was stretching.

Now seeing what Ranma was talking about but assuming that she was referring to what pulled the carriages, Tonks just replied, that's a Thestral… You can see it?"

Ranma nodded and replied, "Yeah… Why is there something wrong?"

No no." Tonks answered, "It's just that only those that have seen death are able to see them."

Ranma just shrugged, she had seen death but its not like that particular death had been a permanent thing.

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Moments Later

Ranma sat with Tonks and two other students, having lost sight of Harry and his friends while leaving the train, onboard the carriage as it rolled along towards their final destination. The late afternoon mist combined with the slight rise that the carriage was making its way up blocked the view before them. But ever so slowly the Castle of Hogwarts was revealed in all its glory.

Having partaken in the breathtaking sight before Tonks leaned over into Ranma's ear and whispered, "It's quite the sight…"

Ranma shrugged, to her while impressive in size the Castle looked among the gloomier places she had ever seen.

Mistaking Ranma's disinterest for awe, Tonks gladly settled back into her seat so her girlfriend could immerse herself fully into the beauty of Hogwarts.(1)

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Moments later the carriage slowed to a slop right in front of some stone steps that led to a rather impressive set of solid wood doors. Taking the other two students example Ranma and Tonks followed them out and were about to follow them up the stairs when they caught sight of Professor McGonagall.

"There you two are." She said in a no nonsense sort of way, "I was looking for you at the station. There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of being sorted before the first years you two will come in afterwards and then be sorted." Pausing for a moment and looking around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping She continued with, "I have been instructed to give this to you, Mauve, it's from Dumbledore." At that moment she held out her hand revealing a small necklace with what looked to be an hourglass surrounded by a circle.

Not sure what to say Ranma said, "Err thanks… Jewelry isn't really my thing though… It's very nice and probably expensive… But…"

Holding up her hand Minerva stated, "Miss Tonks can explain to you what it is and how to use it…" Shooting the Metamorphmagi a look she added, "Right?"

"Ah… Sure thing Professor."

"Good if that is all then… You two just follow me and I will show you where to wait until it's time for you to be sorted.

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Having been led through a series of hallways until they came upon a large group of children waiting behind a massive wooden door and then instructed to wait there until she came back to fetch them Ranma and Tonks stood silently and off to the side as the professor started to round up the children who were now occupied with gawking at the two older girls.

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Within the group of children stood one Ryouga Habiki who for once was happily chatting away with kids who were seemly his age and thus was totally oblivious to the arrival of his long time rival. For a time, anyway.

"Hey Ryouga?" Called the sandy haired girl from the train, whose name happened to be Claire.

"Yeah…" answered Ryouga; still in awe of the impressive sights he had seen through his trek to the Castle even though he had been living there for several weeks.

"Look over there… They look a little big to be first years…" Claire drawled out with a giggle.

Ryouga shifted his attention and stopped dead in dread. There not even fifteen feet away from him was his eternal rival. In his perverted female form to boot and to make the sight even more infuriating she was holding hands with another girl. However instead of the usual anger and rage that Ryouga felt when he saw his Nemesis there was nothing… No anger… No rage… No depression… Nothing…

Well perhaps not totally nothing as the only thing Ryouga felt at that moment was fear.

Fear that Ranma would see him and mock him for his misfortune.

Fear that the other kids would then start in at him two.

Most of all he was afraid that his new friend Claire would get hearts in her eyes and yell out, "Oh look it's my fiancée, Ranma Saotome, I'm sorry Ryouga… But now that Ranma is here we no longer need to be friends, besides you're just a little pig who gets lost all the time."

He was about to scream in frustration when he felt someone poking him in his arm. Turning his head his eyes fell across the seemly worried face of Claire as she asked tentatively, "Ryouga? Are you okay??? For a second there it looked like you were looking at a ghost."

Realizing that he had let his own imagination get the best of him again Ryouga replied, "It's nothing… She just looks like someone I used to know."

"Don't look now… But it looks like the someone who looks like the someone you used to know is heading this way." Came the hushed reply from his friend.

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Ranma and Tonks had just been standing there out of the way while the Professor was attempting to sort out the excited children when a familiar looking bandanna caught Ranma's eye. Focusing on it she smiled happily and dragged Tonks forward.

Normally Ranma might be a little cautious about approaching Ryouga especially while holding onto someone other than Akane's hand but in this case she really needed to talk to him, or at least get him to agree not to blow her cover by yelling something like, "Ranma… Prepare to die for…"

Stopping short of her intended target she put on her most charming smile in the hopes that he would listen before he attacked as they were friends after all. Clearing her voice she said, "Hey there Ryouga, who's your friend?"

Ryouga turned around carefully, expecting the insults to come at any moment and was subsequently caught off guard when his fierce rival smiled warmly down at him. Confused at the situation he did the only thing that he could think of and replied, "This is Claire. We met on the train."

Ranma nodded and smiled at the sandy haired girl before she asked, "Ryouga, can I speak to you for a moment… Alone…" Then as an after thought she added, "Please!"

Ryouga nodded slowly still not sure as to what was going on as he never remembered Ranma being that nice to him before.

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As Ranma led Ryouga away from the other first years she sent a glance to Professor McGonagall hopefully letting her know that she really needed to talk to Ryouga. Glancing down at her Rival sometime friend she could not help but notice the changes that had appeared in him just in the short time that she had seen him last. Sure he was still a kid but Ranma was noticing something else. She briefly wondered at that but then realized that in the short time that she had left Phoenix Mountain she had grown a considerate amount as a person.

The Ryouga following her seemed to be missing that fury that lead to almost all of their fights. Instead she was seeing a young boy who had been minutes ago talking happily with a friend. She could also sense that Ryouga seemed nervous for some reason and Ranma hoped that he was not still upset over what she had told him in Diagon Alley. Though at the time she had meant every word of it but now she thought that she had been a bit too harsh on her rival/friend.

Feeling that they were now far enough away from the others to talk privately Ranma knelt down and looked at Ryouga in the eye, noticing the now younger boy flinched slightly Ranma attempted to put him at ease with, "Relax, I'm not going to start nothing. I just needed to talk to you for a second about why I'm here."

Ryouga bristled slightly, almost resenting the way Ranma was talking to him and fired back, but reigned himself in before he lost his temper recognizing that Ranma was not trying to be hostile with him.

Ranma sighed softly and said, "Look… Ryouga… About what happened in Diagon Alley."

"What of it?" Ryouga asked, flinching at the way he had been beaten by Ranma.

"I said some things… And… Look, I know you haven't had it easy and all but…" Sighing in aggravation over not being to articulate what she was attempting to say Ranma blurted out, "I was wrong to treat you like that. You're a martial artist. A damn good one and I should have taken that fight a little more seriously and not treated you like a child… It's just that you were there when I told everyone my intentions and broke off all my engagements and then you showed up blaming me for everything again and I guess I sort of got a little ticked off about it and…"

"No… It's all right… I was in the wrong. I kept blaming you for my problems when I knew it was my fault… I guess it was just easier that way, well easier than admitting the truth." Ryouga nearly whispered back.

Ranma sighed in relief, things were going better than she expected and decided to change the subject before it got too uncomfortable for either of them. "Besides apologizing there is something else I need to talk to you about, but first I need you to swear on your honor that you won't tell anybody… Ok???"

Ryouga looked at his now older rival, sizing her up, she did not seem to be messing with him at all and was actually coming across as being sincere. Finally after a few moments of intense scrutiny Ryouga nodded and replied, "I swear on my honor that I will not repeat to anybody what ever you are about to tell me."

Ranma nodded and replied, "Thanks… Listen, you know why I came here right?"

"To meet your brother."

"Right… Well turns out he's got his nutcase after him. This guy has tried several times to kill him and actually is the one who killed our parents."

Ryouga having already overheard a few conversations on the matter nodded simply.

Ranma paused briefly to make sure that Ryouga was still following her and after receiving a curt nod she continued with, "Well basically, what I'm doing is keeping an eye out for this guy but to do so I sort of need to be able to stick by close enough so I can protect him. So in addition to being the combat instructor and part of the deal I originally made with Dumbledore, I am going to pretend to be a new student while at the same time use my male form for teaching combat to any of those interested."

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Ryouga looked thoughtful as he considered his options, he knew he could spill the beans and put Ranma on the spot. Did that really solve anything though? Sure part of him still wanted to destroy Ranma's happiness, it had been apart of his mantra for so long that even with things looking up, as they were, that doing that one thing would be icing on the cake. However the newer part of Ryouga was having difficulties thinking like that as part of him wanted to put the past behind him and move on.

In the end though it came down to a really simple question and that was; did he really want to start off on this new life doing something that the old Ryouga would have done? He was pretty sure that the new him that he was idealizing in his own mind was better than that. That his honor was impeccable and worthy of the new friends he had made in the past few hours. Sure they were kids, but when he looked in the mirror he failed to see the troubled young man he had been as he could only see a confused and lonely child.

Deciding that the right thing to do was to go along and help Ranma by not mentioning anything about whom he really was Ryouga said, "I won't say anything to anyone, but if you make me regret it I'll shout it from the highest tower."

Ranma had to check herself as she had almost went and given her long time rival a hug. Smiling brightly she said, "I knew I could count on you… Thanks a lot buddy. I really mean it."

Ryouga blushed and silently cursed Saotome and her dammed cute female body, as it was hard not to blush when she acted all grateful and sincere. Turning his head so that Ranma would not see him blush he muttered, "Well I'm not doing this for you… I'm doing it for me… I have a second chance here and I don't want to ruin it with bad karma."

This time Ranma did not fight her budding instincts and enveloped the now younger boy in a hug while whispering in his ear, "I hope things turn out better for you this time buddy… Just remember if you need anything… Let me know ok and I'll see what I can do… After all what are friends for?"

As he felt Ranma pull away from him Ryouga nodded and replied, "Yeah friends…" The thought of being friends, real friends, with the former Saotome reminded Ryouga about his new friend Claire. Turning his head he noticed that the rest of the first years were starting to move through the doors. Turning his attention back to Ranma he stated, "I got to get going… Maybe I'll stop by one of your combat lessons and show them how it's really done."

Chuckling Ranma replied, "Any time… Any time…"

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As Ranma watched Ryouga walk away she could not help but let a small sad smile grace her lips. So many things had changed in the past few months and surprisingly almost all of the changes were for the better. But somehow Ryouga's offer to sit in on a few of her sessions felt a bit empty, like she had lost the best sparring partner she had ever had.

She knew why it felt empty though, thanks to the scrolls given to her from Saffron, Herb, and the Amazons she had began master her ki and part of that mastery came with the ability to sense the ki in others and according to her senses Ryouga's ki was diminishing quickly while the energy Ranma had begun to label magic was increasing. She figured that eventually the levels would even up with each other but unless Ryouga worked at it his ki would barely match up to Akane's. Though she figured with the magic in his system perhaps he would be at about the same level he had been, it just depended on what Ryouga wanted to do.

"Everything squared away with your friend?" Tonks asked softly.

"Yeah."

Wrapping her arm around Ranma, Tonks asked, "Want to talk about it."

"Naw… I'll be fine… It's just we've been through a lot together and now I think that it's pretty much over."

"Over as friends? Or, over as Rivals?" Tonks asked, having already privy to Ranma's past history with the fanged boy.

Ranma shook her head, her smile brightening she replied, "Over as rivals."

Guiding Ranma over towards the doors so they could hear the sorting Tonks gave her sometimes girlfriends shoulder a loving squeeze and said, "Well, friends are always good to have."

Her eye's focusing on the back of the no longer lost boy's head Ranma simply replied, "Yeah."

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Ranma watched as the procession of first year students entered the hall and noticed that the massive door was now slowly closing, cutting them off from the room until they were to be sorted. It was a sorting in name only as both her and Tonks were to be placed in Griffindor's House so that they could stay close to Harry.

Just as the doors were about to fully close Ranma looked over to the head table and froze. Sitting, in between Lu and small old man that Ranma had not yet met, was a carbon copy of her male body. Ranma went to lung forward but was quickly restrained by Tonks.

"What are you doing??? Didn't you see that imposter?" Ranma cried out breaking free from Tonks hold.

"Ranma" Tonks hissed, "Stop… You don't understand."

Ranma paused her fist just seconds away from breaking a hole through the door and quickly fired out, "Harry could be in danger, I'm not about to fail him."

"Ranma relax, that's not an imposter…"

Ranma snorted and replied, "What do you mean, 'He's not an imposter.' I'm Ranma… I'm right here… So since there is only one of me that means that that Ranma is a fake."

Groaning in exasperation Tonks stated, "That necklace the Professor gave you is called a time-turner… It allows you to go back in time a few hours at a time.

Ranma allowed her arm to fall to her side as she turned around and asked, "So the guy I say in there…"

"That was you from the future." Tonks finished.

Embarrassed over her out burst Ranma stared down at her feet, not daring to look Tonks in her eyes because of the fact that she could have easily hurt her girlfriend all because she hadn't had a full grasp of the situation.

Noticing Ranma's distress, Tonks stepped forward and quickly reassured her with, "Come on now… None of that… See I'm fine… Besides it was a perfectly reasonable reaction." Taking her right arm and reaching out Tonks used slowly lifted up Ranma's head so that she could look into her eyes. "See, I'm perfectly fine."

For the second time that day Ranma did not know what came over her as she found herself rising up on the balls of her feet while moving her left hand into positron so that she could lightly stroke the taller girls face. After her other arm slid into place behind Tonks neck, Ranma began to close the distance between the two of them and soon the only sensations she could feel were the warm softness of Tonks skin and the light brush of air whenever she exhaled.

Tonks leaned forward slightly wrapping her arms around Ranma's waist. Only to move them back to the redheads hips and gently tug forward when she noticed Ranma hesitate ever so slightly.

Their lip's met.

Time seemed to stand still for Ranma as she lost herself in the moment.

Tonks tightened the embrace, while deepening the kiss.

Neither was sure on how long it lasted as for the moment time had no meaning.

Of course, just because time had no meaning to them did not mean that time stopped. That was very apparent as they were interrupted by a stern, "Ahem, If you two are quite finished we are ready to get you sorted now."

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After the last of the first years had been sorted, Minerva **McGonagall**had reopened the door to the hall to fetch the two 'transfer students' so they could be introduced and then sorted. While she was fully aware of their real identities she had not been expecting to catch them so preoccupied, though at least they had the decency to be far enough away from the doors that the other students and staff could not see them. Well most of the staff anyway as Ranma, Sun Lu, and Professor Flitwick all had a direct line of sight to watch the two kissing teens.

Minerva understood that both were young and had slowly been building a friendship that had been turning into something more, but she also realized that now was not the time to explore such feelings. If it had been professor Snape who had caught them then he would have taken away house points and assigned a month's worth of detention. Of course there was also Delores Umbridge to consider as Minerva only knew that the old biddy was a ministry plant, there to make things difficult for some of her more favorite students so if she were to see this blatant display of affection, between two girls to boot, well she'd probably try to expel them.

Not really sure on how to get the two girls attention without causing a scene Minerva glanced back to the staff table and noticed that Ranma was turning a bit red while Fillusleaned over and said something.

Clearing her throat she started, "Ahem, if you…."

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At the staff table

Ranma groaned to himself as he listened to Professor Filtwick say a few comments on what he and Tonks had been doing. Of course the small gnomish man had no clue that Ranma was actually that girl kissing the other girl. _"Why is it that every time I meet a small old man they wind up being some sort of pervert? Well at least this one isn't so bad_._ It could always be worse… Don't really want to think about how_,_ but I definitely know it could be"_

Not wanting to be rude to the old bugger as he seemed to be a pretty nice old man, despite a few lewd comments, but then again he was probably just trying to relate to Ranma's youth more than anything else, Ranma began to half listen so that he could watch himself… herself…

Ranma had to admit that it was pretty weird to see yourself going about from a different perspective, though he had been through a few similar situations before, none of those had actually been him, they had been twisted mockeries of some aspect of him, but not him.

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Back with Mauve and Tonks

After they had broken away from each other Tonks noticed that Ranma looked like a ripened tomato with the blush she was sporting. "_Well, we did decide to be blatant about it just to shake things up a bit."_ Straitening out any wrinkles in her clothes Tonks apologized to the professor with, "Sorry bout that Professor, Mauve had something caught in her throat."

Minerva knew that she was being baited but could not resist herself and replied matter of factly with, "Yes, it appeared to be your tongue… Now if you two are quite finished you can get sorted so that the rest of the students can get something to eat."

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Ranma followed the professor and Tonks out into the Hall and stopped just short of a stool with a old worn looking hat sitting on top of it. Following the Professors lead she turned with Tonks and waited as Dumbledorf stood from his seat and addressed the students.

"This year for the first time in twenty years I am pleased to announce that we have two transfer students among our midst today. Like the first year students though they need to be sorted. So if you can hold on…."

Ranma tuned the rest of what the headmaster was saying out as she turned to look over the hall. From her position in the front she could see Harry and his friends at what she assumed was the Griffindorfs table. That girl Luna from the train was apparently sitting with the Ravenclaw's as she had been half asleep on the train for awhile while Tonks chatted away with her. Then she noticed the Blond boy sitting at a table, Ranma assumed that to be the Slytheryn table. Using her eye's she sought out the one person she was curious about and found him sitting next to the sandy haired girl that she had seen him with before. Apparently Ryouga had managed to make it into Hufflepuff House.

And for that she was glad. To her a house was just a house, but she had also been made aware by quite a few sources that the houses of Hogwarts were more of a stereotype of what they once were.

It had been explained that the original reason that they had come up with the sorting ceremony was so that they could place likeminded people into groups to help nurture their growth. Now though, houses meant something different, Good, evil, smart, happy go lucky. But seeing Ryouga at the Hufflepuff table made her smile as out of all the houses that one was perverted from its true self the least. In that house Ryouga would have friends and people that would look out for him and for that Ranma was grateful.

Hearing a loud applause Ranma snapped out of her thoughts and tuned back into what was going on around her and realized that Dumbledorf had finished speaking.

Hearing Professor McGonagall Call out Tonks' name, Ranma waited patiently already knowing what house. However, despite already knowing what house that Tonks was supposed to be placed in Ranma started to get a bit worried as the seconds seemed to tick by.

At a minute mark quiet murmurs could be heard coming from every table.

At the two-minute mark Ranma noted that some of the professors were starting to glance about at their counterparts.

At about three minutes Ranma dared a glance up to her future self and shot him an inquisitive look only to have it brushed off with a shrug of his shoulders. Annoyed with herself and determined to make herself pay at a later time Ranma relaxed and attempted to remain calm through the use of meditation.

At the five minute mark those professors in the know about Tonks and her true identities where glancing about attempting to discretely catch the headmasters eye, who seemed to be sitting there looking rather relaxed.

At five minutes and thirty two seconds the murmurs stopped as the hat called out, "Griffindor!"

Over at said table cheers erupted letting everyone in the hall know that they were satisfied.

Tonks for her part just calmly set down the hat and started to make her way over to the Griffindorf table.

"Mauve Rowan, If you would please kindly step up so you can be sorted."

Ranma acknowledged the professor with a nod and made her way over to the stool, picking up what she thought was the rattiest hat she had ever seen and placing it on her head before she sat down for a long wait.

No sooner had she sat down though then the hat called out, "Griffindor!"

Ranma blinked, somewhat confused as to why she had been so quick to place when Tonks had taken well over five minutes. Barely acknowledging the cheers from a triumphant sounding Griffindorf table Ranma made her way over to where Tonks was sitting.

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Tonks noticing that Ranma was on her way scooted over a bit so Ranma could sit down next to her in between herself and Hermione, with a boy who introduced himself as Neville Longbottom who was sitting across from her with Harry and then Ron to his left.

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Ranma plopped down in the seat that Tonks had left open for her and did her best to offer a nervous hello as she was attempting to act like she had never met any of them before that day. For the most part though she hadn't, but Hermione was fairly sharp and Ranma did not want to get busted this early in the game. Or at least until after Harry had a sufficient chance to figure it out.

Looking around the table she wondered though. Where was all the food, she was starving and desperately needed something to eat.

Hermione noticing the new girl looking around in confusion said, "The headmaster has to give his welcome to Hogwarts speech before the food is brought in."

Ranma could only roll her eye's and groan in dismay.

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Roughly an hour later.

12

Dumbledore's speech had been relatively painless and short with only a brief introduction to Ranma and Sun Lu as two new members of the staff. He had also covered that they were to receive even more students the next day but those who were coming would be in a temporary fifth house that would be a part of Hogwarts for several years but for this first year they would not be able to participate in the house cup. Instead there would be a secondary contest in-between the houses based solely off of grades and performance, the details of which could be found in their common rooms.

Dumbledore had then turned his attention to two other professors and had introduced the first one as a Professor Grubbly-Plank who was taking over Care of Magical creatures but when he motioned to the second professor, someone whom Ranma was positive he had met before the woman had interrupted the headmaster and went on a several minute spiel about something or another. Ranma had not really been paying attention as Harry had inadvertently informed her how she knew this woman. Turns out she had been one of the three judges at Harry's trial.

Eventually dinner was served and Ranma had been prepared to dig in with a gusto, however Tonks put a stop to that right away and whispered in her ear, "You get to eat again, I'll show you how to use the Time-Tuner after dinner.

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Ranma had some difficulties getting away from the new group after dinner as Hermione had wanted to make sure everything of Tonks and Mauve's things had made it up to their beds in the dorm room. Fortunately Tonks had pointed out that they both were needed to report to their head of house for some last minute scheduling issues.

So Hermione escorted them to Professor McGonagall's office where they pretended to wait for several minutes until Hermione got frustrated enough to go track down the professor, leaving Tonks and Ranma/Mauve standing outside of the head of house's office. Thus giving Ranma the opportunity to utilize the Time-Tuner.

End of chapter 11

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--- I was going to rehash bits of the chapter from male Ranma's point of view but then I looked at the size of this chapter and decided against it for now.

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If enough people tell me that I should do it though then I will add in it the front of the next chapter. I was going to include Umbridge's speech from cannon but I doubt Ranma would have listened to it having already met the woman so I though that perhaps I could work it without Umbridge's speech thus giving Mauve a chance to get into trouble later on.

ee

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Mauve Rowan--- Did a bit of name searching to get that one, it's irish or welsh I forget, brownie points if you know what it means.

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I am not saying Hogwarts is an unpleasant place but to me it just looks gloomy, sure it might be magically exciting and full of surprises but that doesn't change the fact that I think it looks a bit gloomy.

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23… I figured with this chapter I should show a bit of character growth because I wanted to place Ryouga in Hufflepuff, then I figured if Ryouga has grown then perhaps I should show some of Tonks and Lu's influence as well so Ranma gets a bit of growth.

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Also-- a few chapters back I had Ranma working to get over the nekoken and I figured what better way to show that he's making progress then to show it in a dream, and of course I did not want to go for the standard cliché dream where Ranma talks to a cat so I'm going in another direction with it… Just to be different because I do not recall Ranma in any other fic having happy dreams that involved puppies ripping kittens to shreds. You might call me a monster for that but I actually love cat's I even had one his name was Wong fie hung and he was a great cat, till the bastard ran off.

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4, Also unfortunately I was forced to download yet another text editor, due to the one I used in word not working, so that means that the non standard English words might be misspelled so if you see any mistakes that I or my proofreader missed than please let me know so I can fix them. Oh and thanks to pcheintz72 for recommending the text editor


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